The stolen election in Afghanistan
My boss at the U.N., Norwegian diplomat Kai Eide, told me to keep my mouth shut, said Peter Galbraith in The Washington Post, and last week, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon canned me.
Peter Galbraith
The Washington Post
Fraud has triumphed in Afghanistan’s presidential election, said Peter Galbraith. As the U.N.’s deputy special representative to that country, it was my job to help ensure a fair vote in August. But months ago I learned that at least 1,500 of Afghanistan’s 7,000 polling centers would be in places so remote and so insecure that they practically invited ballot-box stuffing.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
I reported this to Afghanistan officials, but they were all cronies of President Hamid Karzai, who angrily complained about my interference. My boss at the U.N., Norwegian diplomat Kai Eide, told me to keep my mouth shut. Sure enough, Election Day yielded “hundreds of thousands of phony Karzai votes,” with some districts recording up to 10 times as many votes as were actually cast. When I pressed the matter, “Karzai issued a formal protest accusing me of foreign interference.” And so last week U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon canned me.
This election should have been “a milestone” in Afghanistan’s evolution from a nation of warlords, corruption, and violence to a true democracy. Instead, it was a cynical farce.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Liz Truss to save the West: is a political comeback really on the cards?
Talking Point The former prime minister is back with a new tell-all memoir
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
Fallout: one of the 'most faithful – and best – video game adaptations'
The Week Recommends This 'genre-bending' new Amazon series is set in a post-apocalyptic wilderness where survivors shelter below ground
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
'Test of faith for Trump Media's investors'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?
Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Last updated
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'
Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
By The Week UK Published
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published