Abdullah questions UN impartiality in Afghan vote

Abdullah Abdullah, the main challenger to incumbent President Hamid Karzai, has raised serious doubts about the neutrality of the UN since the August poll in Afghanistan.

During a Saturday news conference in Kabul, the former foreign minister sharply criticized the head of the United Nations' mission in Afghanistan.

Abdullah emphasized that Kai Eide, the UN special envoy to the country, had worked against uncovering the full extent of fraud in the polls, which were also marred by the Taliban intimidation.

He also suggested that a full internal inquiry was needed into Eide's conduct, saying that the alleged fraud had "greatly damaged" the reputation of the UN in Afghanistan.

"... But as far as I am concerned, in my mind I have no doubt that it has seriously damaged the UN's credibility in Afghanistan."

The sharp criticism comes after the dismissal of a key deputy to Eide. Deputy head of the UN mission in Afghanistan Peter Galbraith was sacked over a dispute with his superior about how to handle allegations of fraud.

Galbraith had requested the annulment of the votes in 1,000 of the 25,000 polling stations and a recount of ballots at 5,000 more. Eide, however, had called for the recount of 1,000 polling stations.

The UN mission alongside the Kabul government was responsible for the election's smooth running in the war-ravaged country.

The final and uncertified count of votes indicated a Karzai victory in the Afghan presidential election. The results showed Karzai gaining more than 54.6 percent of the vote and rival Abdullah Abdullah, who managed to win less than 27.8 percent.

The election has been overshadowed by allegations of widespread fraud. Should fraud investigations cause Karzai's figure to drop below 50 percent, he would have to go and compete against Abdullah in a second round of elections.