Karzai, Abdullah at Odds About Afghan Election Official

Considering the outcome of the last presidential election, or attempt at same, in Afghanistan, it’s not surprising that Hamid Karzai’s challenger, Abdullah Abdullah, would balk at the idea of letting the same polling officials head the voting effort during the runoff slated for Nov. 7.

BBC:

Mr Abdullah made his demand ahead of a 7 November run-off, after a UN-backed panel threw out first-round votes.

He said commission chief Azizullah Lodin had “no credibility”, but Mr Karzai said he had done nothing wrong.

The row comes as US President Obama was due to meet advisers amid pressure for a decision on a possible troop surge.

Read more

AP / Musadeq Sadeq

Abdullah Abdullah, shown during a press conference in Kabul on Oct. 15, is a former Afghan foreign minister and the top challenger to Afghan President Hamid Karzai.