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Saturday, August 22, 2009 KABUL: The two top candidates in Afghanistan's presidential election are claiming victory, although elections officials are saying it is too early to know who won this week's vote. Analysts say what appears to be an uneven voter turnout coupled with possible claims of fraud could have an impact on the credibility of the election. Election officials in Afghanistan are urging candidates to refrain from declaring victory, although that has not stopped the campaigns of incumbent President Hamid Karzai and his chief challenger, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, from claiming a first-round win.Election officials say preliminary returns and accurate figures on turnout will not be available for days."In the provinces under high security threat level maybe the turnout was low. But there are many provinces where the participants were high. Now it's very difficult for us, because we could not receive the final figures from the provinces. That i...

Friday, August 21, 2009 KABUL: President Hamid Karzai's campaign manager claimed victory on Friday in the country's presidential election, saying preliminary results showed there would be no need for a second round run-off. "Initial results show that the president has got a majority," Deen Mohammad told foreign news agency, although he said it was the duty of the election commission to announce the official results. "We will not got to a second round. We have got a majority." Mohammad said the estimate of victory was based on reports from nearly 29,000 monitors the campaign had at polling stations throughout the country. However, a spokesman for his chief rival, Abdullah Abdullah, dismissed the claim. Official preliminary results are not due for two weeks, but counting began immediately after polls closed on Thursday, and the 6,200 polling stations are required to post their results as they tabulate them. Polls conducted before the election showed Karzai in ...

PHOENIX: US President Barack Obama warned that victory in Afghanistan would be neither "quick" nor "easy"."The insurgency in Afghanistan didn't just happen overnight," Obama told the Veterans of Foreign Wars service organization in the southwestern state of Arizona ahead of Afghanistan's presidential election on Thursday."We won't defeat it overnight. This will not be quick. This will not be easy," Obama said, explaining his strategy of intensifying the fight against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan was now taking effect.The president defended the war as a necessary conflict, which was "fundamental" to the defense of American people in depriving Al-Qaeda of a safe-haven to plot follow-on attacks to the September 11 strikes in 2001.Obama noted an upsurge in "fierce" fighting in Afghanistan, but vowed to constantly adapt US tactics and ensure the troops have the tools and equipment they need to d...