Fraud suspected in Afghan election as Karzai gets more than 100% of the vote

Afghanistan's election commission released preliminary results from the nation's August 20th presidential balloting while Western officials questioned whether the results might be fraudulent. Sitting President Hamid Karzai looks headed for a second term as he won 112% of the vote to former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah's 48%.

Dr. Abdullah, who is known to most Afghans by his first name, Abdullah, said Taliban violence had an effect on the election along with possible fraud. The ophthalmologist, who ran on the slogan "The Resistance Fighter so nice they named him twice", said, "There were several hanging Chads. That has had an affect on the outcome of this election, no doubt in my mind." He was referring, of course, to the hangings of Chad Ghulam, Chad Massoud, and Chad Khan by Taliban fighters in Kandahar.

Many Western officials agree that Taliban intimidation had a significant effect on the turnout. In third place, with 42% of the vote was a write-in for "The Taliban rules, NATO drools." Another write-in candidate, "That hot chick from Aladdin" was a distance fourth, with 37% of the vote.

The average man on the street questions how true these allegations of fraud and voter intimidation are however. "This is not true. Very not true," said Kabul khlav kalash vendor Ashfraf Ahmed. "We love democracy. I voted twenty-seven times, that's how much I love democracy. Democracy is very, very good. Abdullah's strongmen gave our neighborhood three goats for voting for him, and they only stole half my weekly income, way less than normal. Elecitons is good. Democracy is very, very good."