International Media Coverage

Please Note: FEFA does not guarantee the accuracy of or endorse the views or opinions given by any of the third parties linked to below.

‘Afghan anger over ‘rigged’ parliamentary vote,’ BBC, November 11, 2010

‘MPs say poll woes pushing Afghans into insurgency,’ Daily Times (Pakistan), November 11, 2010

‘Afghan vote fraud continues to delay democracy,’ Chris Sands, The National, Nov 18, 2010

‘Afghan fraud claims ‘will change election,’ AFP, November 18, 2010

‘American Foreign Policy after the Mid-Term Elections,’ Richard N. Haass,  Council on Foreign Relations, Nov 18, 2010

‘One in 10 victorious Afghan candidates banned for fraud,’  Jon Boone, the Guardian, November 21, 2010

‘Afghan poll candidates disqualified,’ Aljazeera, Nov 21, 2010

‘Watchdog disqualifies 19 over Afghanistan poll fraud,’ BBC, 21 Nov 2010,

‘21 candidates disqualified from Afghan elections,’ Matiullah Mati, CNN, Nov 21, 2010

‘Afghan election watchdog disqualifies 21 winners,’ Hamid Shalizi, Reuters, Nov 21, 2010

‘19 candidates disqualified after Afghan parliamentary elections,’ CNN Wire Staff, November 22, 2010

‘Candidates for Parliament Protest Afghan Elections’, Rod Nordland, New York Times, November 8, 2010

‘Afghans Protest Parliamentary Vote’, VOA News, November 2, 2010

‘Afghan candidates and MPs call for new election’, Jonathon Burch, Reuters, November 2, 2010

‘Afghan watchdog voices concern over poll turnout’, Sayed Salahuddin, Reuters,  October 28, 2010

‘Nearly 6,000 complaints against Afghan vote’, AFP, October 28, 2010

‘Managing expectations in Afghanistan’, Emily L. Blout, Concordiensis, Oct 28, 2010,

’Afghan Vote Tally Reveals New Faces, Fraud’, Maria Abi-Habib, Wall Street Journal, October 20, 2010

‘Afghan Election Commission Is Praised for Its Fairness, in Spite of Tainted Voting’, Alissa J. Rubin , New York Times, October 20, 2010

‘Afghanistan Officials Cancel About 23 Percent of Parliamentary Votes’, Ayaz Gul, VOA, October 20, 2010

‘Afghan vote count excludes more than 1 million ballots’, Laura King, Los Angeles Times, October 20, 2010

‘Nearly a quarter of Afghanistan election votes disqualified’, Tom A. Peter, Christian Science Monitor, October 20, 2010

‘Afghan Election Officials Disqualify Nearly quarter of Votes’, Andrey Volkov, Epoch Times, Oct 20, 2010

‘Partial Afghan poll results to be released,’ Washington Times, September 27 , 2010

‘Young Afghan embrace election hope,’ Lyse Doucet, BBC, September 23, 2010

‘Humanity lessons provided through Afghan election,’ Neil Weinberg, Eastern Echo, September 22, 2010

‘Election complaints overwhelm Afghan voter commission,’ Sean Maroney, Voice of America, September 21, 2010

‘Claims of intimidation, fraud in Afghanistan’s landmark election,‘ Yahoo! News, September 21, 2010

‘Observers cite serious concerns about quality of Afghan elections,’ CNN, September 21, 2010

‘Observers want investigation of Afghan elections,’ Ira Mellman, Voice of America, September 20, 2010

‘Afghan election commission reports new evidence of serious fraud,’ Jonathon Landy and Dion Nissenbaum, McClatchy,  September 21, 2010

‘Insurgent –led afghan party raises fears of unsavory leaders,’ Kathy Gannon, LA Times, September 20, 2010

‘Discrepancy calls Afghan voter turnout into question,’ Ivan Watson and Najib Sharifi, The Express (UAE), September 20, 2010

‘Critics say election in Afghanistan hardly fair,’ Chris Sands, The National (UAE), September 20, 2010

‘Afghan warlords hedge bets, contest elections,’ Kathy Gannon, Associated Press, September 20, 2010

‘Afghan election already tainted,’ Julius Cavendish, New Zealand Herlald, September 20, 2010

‘Afghanistan counts votes from parliamentary election,’ Eltaf Najafizada, Businessweek, September 20, 2010

‘Fraud, violence tarnished Afghan vote, watchdog says,’ Dion Nissenbaum, McClatchy, September 20, 2010

‘Fraud and turnout weigh on Afghan ‘miracle’ poll,’ Paul Tait and Sayed Salahuddin, Reuters, September 19, 2010

‘Afghan election watchdog amasses evidence of fraud,’ Joanathan S. Landay and Saeed Shah, McClatchy, September 19, 2010

‘Fraud claims cast shadow over Afghan poll,’ Sardar Ahmad, AFP, September 20, 2010

‘Watchdog group: Many Afghans denied right to vote,’ Amy Cox, CNN, September 20, 2010

‘Bodies of three kidnapped election workers found in Afghanistan,’ Ernesto Londoño, Washington Post, September 19, 2010

‘Afghans praised for voting in shadow of violence,’ Yahoo! News, 19 September, 2010

‘Afghan poll figures failed to cover fall in voting,’ Ben Farmer, Telegraph (UK), 19 September, 2010

‘Fraud, turnout weight on ‘miracle’ Afghan poll,’ Paul Tait and Sayed Sallahuddin, Reuters, 19 September, 2010

‘In Afghanistan, election a key test for fighting corruption,’ Ben Arnoldy, Christian Science Monitor, 18 September, 2010

‘Afghans brave Taliban to vote in parliamentary election,’ BBC, 18 September, 2010

‘Afghans vote despite of attacks, turnout appears low,’ Heidi Vogt, Times of India, 18 September, 2010

‘Taliban kidnap Afghanistan election candidates,’ Fazel Minaullah Qazizai, The National (UAE), 17 September, 2010

‘Afghanistan election fears lead UN to evacuate third of staff,’ Jon Boone, the Guardian, September 17, 2010

‘Afghan election candidates in fear of attacks,’ Amnesty International, September 16, 2010

On 13 September the Afghan President’s office stated that security forces are completely prepared to ensure safe voting throughout the country.

However, according to the Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan (FEFA), an Afghan NGO, candidates in 14 out of 34 provinces have expressed concerns over inadequate security provision at their campaigning venues and other candidates told Amnesty International that they didn’t think security provisions were going to be any better on election day.

FEFA observers in the eastern province of Nangarhar recently reported large disparities between the protection provided between candidates favoured by local government officials and others.

‘Security, Fraud Concerns Loom as Afghans Prepare to Vote,’ Alissa J. Rubin, New York Times, September 16, 2010

Three candidates and 11 campaigners were killed over the summer, according to the Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan, an independent organization that monitors the elections.

The organization also registered 200 episodes of intimidation, some by the Taliban but others by candidates seeking to discourage people from supporting competitors. In the Paghman district of Kabul, a candidate and former commander used his bodyguards to prevent rivals from campaigning there, the election foundation said.

‘Taliban urges Afghan vote boycott, warns of violence,’ Jonathan Burch, Reuters, September 16, 2010

The independent Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan (FEFA) criticized the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC), a U.N-backed election oversight panel, for taking too little decisive action against government voting misconduct.

Out of more than 580 registered complaints, 310 were reported being committed by government officials, FEFA said.

“We are not encouraged by the level of action by the ECC against the government officials,” FEFA Chairman Nader Naderi told reporters. “They did take some measures … but they needed to be much more aggressive in addressing this serious issue.”

The ECC will have to adjudicate potentially thousands of complaints, a large number of which could delay the results of the ballot. No results are expected before October 8, with the final result not due before October 30.

‘Fears raised over influx of fake Afghan poll cards,’ Sayed Salahuddin, Reuters, September 14, 2010

On Tuesday, both the ECC and independent watchdog the Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan (FEFA) said fake copies of registration cards, the document voters must produce to cast ballots, had been found in Herat in the west, Kunduz and Baghlan in the north and Nuristan and Paktia in the east.

Neither had exact figures or could say who was behind the fake cards, but some media reports have put the figure as high as 3 million — about a sixth of Afghanistan’s roughly 17.5 million registered voters.

FEFA’s Jandad Spinghar told Reuters some counterfeit cards had been used in the past three elections, but numbers seemed to be much higher this time.

“We have seen samples of fake cards found by our observers. If the government does take preventive measures, the level of fraud can be reduced, if not totally prevented,” Spinghar said.

‘Security in Afghanistan is Deteriorating, Aid Groups Say,’ Rod Nordland, New York Times, September 11, 2010

Only 500 international observers are coming to monitor these elections, compared with more than a thousand last year, according to Jindad Spinghar of the Free and Fair Election Foundation. International observers will be able to go only to provincial capitals, not rural areas, where most of the population lives, he said. The election foundation, the leading Afghan monitoring group, has had to cut back its own observers, who will be watching only 60 percent of polling places.

“Because the control of the central government is decreasing,” Mr. Spinghar said, “power brokers and warlords will be able to use their influence at the local level, where there are no observers.” It was in just such areas in 2009 that widespread voting fraud took place, resulting in a disputed and internationally discredited presidential election.

‘Afghanistan: Unchecked Violence Threatens Election,’ Human Rights Watch (HRW), September 9, 2010

The Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan (FEFA) said that the majority of threats against individual candidates reported to them [during the first three weeks of campaigning] were against women, including at least 40 incidents of threatening letters or phone calls in 10 provinces. Many of these incidents include threats of violence if the woman does not withdraw her candidacy.

The government has promised to make security personnel available for women running for parliament. But less than two weeks before the election, Human Rights Watch interviews with a number of election monitors, candidates, and women’s rights activists suggest that the most women candidates have still not been provided with bodyguards, security advice, or transport security, even if they requested protection. Security was similarly inadequate during the 2009 elections. The Afghan government should rapidly address the security threats to women candidates, Human Rights Watch said.

‘Women hopefuls face particular risks in Afghan poll,’ Jonathan Burch, Reuters AlertNet, September 8, 2010

Out of 10 threats observers reported [during the first three weeks of campaigning] targeting specific candidates, 9 were aimed at women, FEFA said. One woman was forced to suspend her campaign in a rural province in central Afghanistan after receiving death threats and moved to Kabul.

‘FEFA Condemns Election Violence,’ Democracy International, September 6, 2010

The Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan (FEFA) has called on security forces to increase efforts to prevent further bloodshed in the lead-up to next week’s Wolesi Jirga elections. Condemning recent violence against candidates and their workers, the non-governmental election observer organization, Afghanistan’s largest, said more was needed to protect vulnerable people involved in the election process. According to a tally FEFA has been keeping, three candidates and at least 11 campaign workers have been killed across the country in election-related violence since late June.

‘Taliban vow to disrupt Afghan parliamentary poll,’ Sayed Salahuddin, Reuters, September 5, 2010

Nader Nadery, chairman of the independent Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan, said the threat was worrying because it could lead to poor voter turnout in the ethnic Pashtun belt in the south, where the Taliban are strongest.

“The people know that when the Taliban warn, they deliver on those warnings, and that prevents people from engaging very actively,” Nadery said.

‘Afghanistan election: five campaigners for female candidate shot dead,’ Jon Boone, the Guardian, August 29, 2010

One of the defining features of the campaign has been the attacks and scare tactics directed at women contesting seats nationwide. According to a recent survey of violence and irregularities in Logar province, conducted by the Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan (FEFA), nine out of 10 threats against specific candidates were directed at women.

In other provinces, women have been “inundated” with threatening phone calls, often delivered late at night by insurgents and political opponents. Ahmad Nader Nadery, director of FEFA, said his organisation’s research showed that violence in the run-up to polling was far higher across the country than in last year’s presidential election, where widespread insecurity was an essential precondition for extraordinary amounts of voting fraud.

In Herat yesterday, gunmen killed a candidate named as Haji Abdul Manan as he walked from his home to a mosque. “This is an environment of high amounts of intimidation and threats to candidates in general, but specifically to female candidates,” Nadery said. “We expect more of this, with an increase in attacks on candidates, as we get closer to the elections.”

Nadery said the type of people trying to disrupt women’s campaigns varied around the country. “It is very dominant in the south by the Taliban, but it also exists in the north of the country where powerful political figures and warlords are responsible,” he said.

‘Young Afghan voters aim to change face of parliament,’ Lynne O’Donnell, AFP, August 26, 2010

The Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan (FEFA), an independent monitor, said election-related violence was escalating as the poll neared.

Election authorities have said that 938 out of a total 6,835 polling centres will not open on election day because security cannot be guaranteed.

“I’m aware of the risks and dangers that are out there that threaten every individual candidate,” said Mossazai.

“I made my decision to run with that awareness. Afghans who want to make a better future for Afghanistan have to make sacrifices.”

’25 Insecure Provinces, 25 Days Ahead of Afghan Elections,’ TOLOnews, August 24, 2010

The Free and Fair Elections Foundation of Afghanistan (FEFA) says if no solutions are found to stop the challenges before the parliamentary elections, Afghans will lose their trust in the elections and will not have wide-scale participation.

“There is not only the security problem, but there is also the problem of government authorities’ interference in this process, and the other problem is the lack of seriousness by the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) to prevent fraud,” Jandad Spinghar, the executive director of FEFA told TOLOnews.

‘Afghan elections: record number of women stand for parliament,’ Jon Boone, the Guardian, August 24, 2010

According to the Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan (Fefa), a female candidate in isolated Ghor province was forced to abandon her campaign and flee to Kabul.

It said that women candidates were “inundated” with late-night threatening calls both from insurgents, political rivals and even some ordinary people.

“Women’s campaigns were barely visible in the most insecure provinces in the south and south-east of the country, and female candidates complained of government indifference to their security concerns,” Fefa said in a recent report.

Despite the dangers the number of women seeking representation in parliament has risen sharply, from 328 in 2005 to 406 across Afghanistan, according to an international election monitor in Kabul. They are running for at least 64 of the 249 seats reserved for women.

‘Ahead of Afghan poll, security deteriorates across north,’ Enayat Najafizada, AFP, August 24, 2010

Independent monitoring group the Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan (FEFA) said: “As election day moves closer, election-related violence is escalating.”

On its website, FEFA described “grim illustrations of the deteriorating security situation” across the country, with “insurgents focus(ing) on intimidation, distributing night letters warning voters, candidates and election workers to abstain from the elections or face violent targeting”.

“Taliban in one district of Nangarhar province went door-to-door threatening that anyone caught with a voter registration card would have her or his right hand cut off,” it said.

‘Security concerns make Afghan elections dangerous for politicians, voters alike,’ David Nakamura, Washington Post, August 24, 2010

Ahmad Nader Nadery, chairman of the Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan, said his organization has recorded a large increase in intimidation by the Taliban of voters and candidates, especially women, as well as threats from warlords who have propped up handpicked candidates against weaker rivals.

Compared with the presidential election last summer, Nadery said, “the coming elections will be much more challenging in terms of security, in terms of conditions on a very local level. Attempts to buy and persuade electoral employees favoring this and that candidate will be much more, but there are not many more prevention mechanisms.”

‘Voters could lose faith in election due to violations: FEFA,’ Frozan Rahmani, Pahjwok Afghan News, August 21, 2010

People could lose faith in the September 18 parliamentary election process if authorities do not address violations in several parts of the country, the Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan (FEFA) warned on Saturday.

FEFA officials had collected information from provinces over the past three weeks, and had registered 166 cases of violations, including intimidation of candidates, Jandad Spinghar, executive director of FEFA, told a press conference in Kabul.

Thirty four incidents included threats to candidates directly or indirectly by anti-government sources, such as intimidation of weak candidates by more powerful ones, threatening night letters and violations of election rules and regulations.

‘Fraud and Violence Expected to Mar Parliamentary Poll,’ Ben Farmer, Irish Times, August 21, 2010

Several candidates said security this year was worse, despite the arrival of 30,000 American reinforcements ordered by Barack Obama. Nader Nadery, chairman of FEFA, said: “There’s more intimidation, there’s more attacks on female candidates and other candidates. There’s assassination of candidates. Areas in the south are becoming more and more insecure and areas in the north are becoming more and more intimidating for the weaker candidates.”

‘Unrest Is Undermining Hopes for Afghan Vote,’ Alissa J. Rubin, New York Times, August 11, 2010

The Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan, a nongovernmental election monitoring organization, will have observers in roughly 60 percent of polling centers, said Ahmad Nader Nadery, its chairman. That leaves those parts of the country that are most insecure almost certainly without observers.

Clarification: FEFA will carry out observation in every province, and in many districts with tenuous security.

‘ Ex-Guantanamo detainee now campaigning in Afghanistan,’ Dion Nissbaum, McClatchy, August 4, 2010

While many election experts are wary of the upcoming vote, there’s broad agreement that postponing it would be a mistake.

“I believe postponing the elections would further undermine the legitimacy of this government and will add to the disillusionment of those communities and groups who feel they are marginalized totally by the government,” said Nader Nadery, the head of the Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan and a veteran human rights activist.

“They strongly believe that the only way for them currently is to be elected in parliament, and if for whatever reason the elections are postponed, they would accept the conspiracy theory that the government is trying to control and marginalize other ethnic groups from the centers of power,” Nadery said.

‘Afghanistan election will still include suspected war criminals,’ Dan Murphy, Christian Science Monitor, July 30, 2010

Nader Nadery, a member of the Free and Fair Elections Foundation of Afghanistan, says the ECC allowed itself to be steamrollered by the government.

“The ECC cannot just approve a decision made by someone else without asking questions about the credibility of the information provided to them. They have the power to question; they should not just serve as a clerk,” he says. “I was disappointed with the lack of proper vetting of candidates with clear links to armed groups and serious human rights abuses records.”

‘An interview with Jandad Spinghar, head of the Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan (FEFA),’ Hamidullah Habibi, Afghanistan Votes, July 19, 2010

In order to have a successful election, potential voters, the media and civil society forums should try to play their monitoring role effectively. In addition, the IEC must try to conduct a transparent election and decrease the level of abuses. The IEC must assure people that they can conduct a free and fair election. The adoption of such measures by the IEC will increase its credibility and people will participate in election in a larger numbers. A public outreach program is another useful tool in this regard. In addition, security organs can play a key role in the election process. They should adopt constructive measures to decrease the level of insecurity particularly in the volatile areas of the country.