Washington Babylon — August 24, 2009, 9:59 am
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P.J. Tobia provides some interesting analysis:
> Yesterday I met with a high-level official from the UN backed Election Complaints Commission(ECC.) The ECC ’s job is to look into allegations of fraud during last Thursday’s vote and after resolving all of the complaints, certify the election as valid. Or not.
> During our conversation, which covered everything from details on how complaints are investigated to the time line for getting all this sorted, he emphasized the importance of turnout in determining fraud. “Say 500 women are reported to have voted in Ghazni” the official said, using a hypothetical. “That seems improbable. So we’ll check it out.”
> He also told me that districts with polling stations closed due to Election Day violence should be returning very low numbers of ballots to Kabul. “But if somebody stuffed the ballot box the night before” the official says, “it will be obvious that the votes are invalid.” So like thieves the world over, those who may be trying to steal this election are likely too smart by half.
More from Ken Silverstein:
Commentary — July 25, 2012, 2:20 pm
Washington Babylon — September 29, 2010, 11:37 am
Lucas Mann on hope and change in a minor-league-baseball city
Minimum number of baboons forced to smoke crack in a 1989 study testing the efficacy of cigarettes as a drug delivery device:
A reduction in distrust toward atheists was documented among pious Canadians who are reminded of the Vancouver police.
A Missouri cinema apologized for hiring an actor dressed in body armor and carrying a fake rifle to appear at a screening of Iron Man 3.
Winner of the 2012 Olivier Rebbot Award for best photographic reporting from abroad in magazines or books
