Afghan president claims victory, denies fraud

Afghan President Hamid Karzai denied Thursday that major electoral fraud took place last month after claiming victory after preliminary results were announced amid mounting allegations of vote-rigging.

Shortly after Karzai spoke to reporters a suicide car bomb hit Italian vehicles from the NATO-led force carrying foreign troops near the U.S. Embassy and an American military base in Afghanistan's capital, killing at least 10 people and wounding dozens, officials said.

"Media has reported major fraud. It wasn't that big. If there was fraud, it was small -- it happens all over the world," Karzai told reporters a day after preliminary results showed him winning the first round outright with 54.6 percent of the vote.

But the European Union said more than a third of his votes might be suspect because of fraud – most of them for Karzai.

"If there is fraud, it has to be investigated, but investigated fairly and without prejudice," he said, and urged foreign allies not to interfere over investigations.

Afghans went to the polls on August 20 in only their second direct presidential election, but the vote has been overshadowed by massive claims of irregularities and threats of violence by Taliban rebels.

If there is fraud, it has to be investigated, but investigated fairly and without prejudice

Hamid Karzai, incumbent president

Fraud allegations

The European Union Election Observation Mission to Afghanistan on Wednesday said that they had identified 1.5 million votes which could be fraudulent, with 1.1 million of those cast for Karzai.

His campaign office responded furiously, accusing the EU of meddling and damning the announcement as "partial, irresponsible and in contradiction with Afghanistan's constitution."

We do not accept these results at all

Sayed Aqa Fazel Sancharaki, Abdullah campaign spokesman

His nearest rival, Abdullah Abdullah, who has 27.8 percent of the vote, has shown no sign of conceding the vote, alleging state-engineered fraud and urging a run-off.

His campaign spokesman Sayed Aqa Fazel Sancharaki said Wednesday that if the 1.5 million suspicious votes raised by the EU were investigated and thrown out, Karzai's share of the vote "will drop drastically".

"We do not accept these results at all," he told AFP.

Karzai said Thursday he would respect the results of investigations by the electoral bodies, but there is no timetable yet for the audits and recounts at about 2,500 polling stations, raising fears of protracted political turmoil.

Taliban terror

The fracas comes as Taliban insurgents are waging a bloody insurgency to topple the government, with threats of militant violence believed to be behind the meager election turnout of 38.7 percent.

Karzai said "we had a successful election," but admitted that threats of violence by the Taliban did impact the polls.

The results are not final until approved by a separate election fraud watchdog, which has called for a recount of about 10 percent of polling stations.

But a campaign spokesman for Karzai said Wednesday the result made it almost impossible that any probe could overturn the outcome. Only a "miracle" for his opponents could prevent Karzai winning, Waheed Omar said.

A disputed result would prove difficult for U.S. President Barack Obama, who is considering deploying more troops and who set out broad goals on Wednesday for boosting the ability of Afghanistan and Pakistan to fight militancy.

(With Agencies)