Afghan president, regional leaders agree to appoint two foreigners to election fraud panel

Afghan president, lawmakers agree on fraud panel

KABUL — Afghanistan’s president and regional political leaders agreed Thursday to keep two international commissioners on the panel that uncovered widespread fraud in last year’s presidential vote, officials said, allaying worries that the president would remove all foreigners from the group.

The five-member Electoral Complaints Commission was dominated by U.N. appointees when it confirmed massive ballot-rigging in last year’s presidential election, most of it to President Hamid Karzai’s benefit.

Karzai had made statements suggesting he might appoint an all-Afghan commission ahead of parliamentary elections in September, but the U.N. had lobbied for at least some international representation and a presidential spokesman said Thursday that Karzai is committed to appointing two international commissioners.

“There is an agreement on two people from the U.N.,” Waheed Omar said. A statement released by the president’s office said representatives from parliament and powerful ethnic groups also agreed in discussions Thursday that two international representatives would be acceptable.

This will still change the commission from a U.N.-dominated body to an Afghan-dominated group.

Those in the meetings said they agreed to a list of names including three Afghans — a Kabul University professor, a Parliamentary employee and a Supreme Court nominee — along with two foreigners from the United Nations.

Mohammad Akbary, a lawmaker from Bamiyan province, said the list was final, as did other parliamentarians who were in the meetings.

Omar, the presidential spokesman, said that a final list would not be issued before Saturday.

A spokesman for the United Nations declined to comment on the commissioners until an official list was announced.

“They were good, constructive meetings and there were some positive developments,” spokesman Dan McNorton said.