Bodies of three Afghan election workers found; vote count on (Roundup)

Sep 19, 2010, 13:50 GMT

Kabul - The bodies of three workers from the Afghan Independent Election Commission (IEC) who were abducted by suspected Taliban agents in northern Afghanistan were found on Sunday, the commission's chief said.

The men were abducted during Saturday's parliamentary elections in the Chamtal district of Balkh provinces, Fazel Ahmad Manawi, the chairman of IEC told a press conference.

'Three of our workers were kidnapped in Chamtal district. Today all three were martyred and their bodies have been found,' he said.

At least a dozen IEC workers were also injured when Taliban militants carried out 11 attacks on IEC convoys and 93 attacks on polling stations across the country during the day, he said.

Manawi said that, according to unconfirmed reports, 21 Afghan civilians were killed and 46 others were injured in rockets and bombings that were part of Taliban efforts to disrupt the polls. Afghan security officials had put the death toll for civilians at 11.

Saturday also saw the deaths of four Afghan security personnel, four NATO-led troops and at least 27 Taliban militants. Dozens others were injured in blasts and direct firefights, according to military officials.

The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) had earlier reported that two of its soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb, while another died in an insurgent attack in northern part of the country.

ISAF did not reveal the nationalities of the soldiers, nor say if they were taking part in election-related operations.

There were 305 violent incidents on Saturday, down from 422 attacks during the last year's president elections, which was also marred by massive fraud.

Despite widespread attacks, Saturday's election was praised by senior Afghan officials and NATO and UN chiefs, who deemed it a success.

More than 4 million Afghans cast ballots during the elections, which put the turnout at 40 per cent, Manawi said, adding that a total of 5,355 centres were opened in country's 34 provinces. However, figures for around 10 per cent of the stations has yet to be reported.

At least 300 polling sites could not be opened Saturday due to Taliban attacks, Mawani said. The figure is in addition to more than 1,000 centres, where the IEC had earlier said that it was too dangerous for its staff and observers to monitor the vote.

Manawi said that the preliminary vote count was complete in 22 provinces, while the figure for another 11 provinces was expected by Sunday evening. Election officials could not be reached in one remaining province due to lack of communication systems.

The final and verified results were expected around the end of October.

But election officials said final results could be delayed because a UN-backed complaint commission is expected to look into thousands of allegations of fraud and complaints, mainly from losing candidates, before they announce the winners.

There were many reports of fraud, including ballot-stuffing by electoral workers in favors of certain candidates and underage and double voting during Saturday's vote that may also raise question about the legitimacy of the vote and delay the results.

The Free and Fair Election Foundations of Afghanistan (FEFA), an independent watchdog that deployed around 7,000 observers to most of the vote centres, said that it reported 'extensive irregularities' and urged the IEC 'to ensure the integrity of the rest of the electoral process.'