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UNCLAS KABUL 002457 
 
DEPT FOR AFGHAN ELECTIONS TASK FORCE 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM AF
 
SUBJECT: Afghan Elections Situation Report Twelve - 1200 Local, 
August 21, 2009 
 
¶1. (SBU) The next sitrep is scheduled for 1600 local on August 21. 
 
 
------------ 
Atmospherics 
------------ 
 
¶2. (U) Reuters reported at 9:45 AM local time that Karzai's campaign 
chief, Deen Mohammad, announced that Karzai was winning and a 
run-off would not be necessary.  Shortly thereafter Mohommad 
confirmed to us that he had indeed spoken with Reuters, but had 
given his personal opinion.  He told Reuters that based on numbers 
reported by Karzai observers in the field on Election Day, Karzai 
appeared to be winning and in Mohammad's own view, the election 
might not need to go to a second round.  He also told the reporter 
that it's the duty of the IEC to announce the official results. 
 
¶3. (U) Provincial reports by region follow: 
 
RC South: 
South Region IEC coordinator Qahir Wasifi reported that all 262 
planned polling stations in Kandahar province were open yesterday. 
Only two international observer teams - both representing Democracy 
International - visited polling stations.  KPRT received unconfirmed 
reports that both Karzai and Abdullah supporters engaged in campaign 
activities at polling stations in Kandahar City.  In contrast to the 
general reports of low voter turnout, there are unconfirmed reports 
of high turnout in certain districts, such as Dand and Panjwayi. 
Unconfirmed reports indicate that the women's participation was low 
across the province. 
RC-East: 
Laghman:  The provincial capital of Mehtarlam appears peaceful, with 
some post-election unrest in Alingar District (see security 
section).  PRT rep interviewed six Mehtarlam locals who said they 
were proud to have voted, and very pleased at the relatively 
peaceful election day.  All spontaneously expressed support for 
Karzai. 
 
RC North: 
 
-- Balkh Province: PRT Mazar-e Sharif reported anecdotally that two 
male voters who participated in the previous presidential election 
thought this election was better managed than the last, citing 
better quality ink, better security, and no improper influence over 
votes.  Both voters were confident that the elections process would 
be deemed fair and impartial. 
-- IEC vote counters at the Aybak Boys School in Samangan 
consistently held the presidential ballots up for inspection to 
observers.  Two hundred and sixteen presidential ballots were deemed 
invalid because voters did not place a mark in the ballot and it 
remained blank, and some voters checked multiple boxes of various 
candidates. 
-- Dr. Abdullah surpassed the competition at Aybak Boys School 
Voting Center, winning 68 percent of the male ballots cast.  Karazi 
won 32 percent of the votes. 
 
RC West: 
 
-- Nothing new to report. 
 
RC Central: 
 
-- Nothing new to report. 
 
------------- 
Voter Turnout 
------------- 
 
¶4.  (U) Provincial reports by region follow: 
 
RC South: 
 
-- Nothing new to report. 
 
RC East: 
 
-- Laghman:  PRT reported it still has no reliable count of voter 
turnout.  The provincial IEC representative declined to comment. 
Anecdotally, turnout appears to have been good in Mehtarlam but may 
have been substantially lower in outlying districts. 
RC North: 
 
-- Nothing new to report. 
 
RC West: 
 
 
-- Nothing new to report. 
 
RC Central: 
 
-- Nothing new to report. 
 
--------- 
Security 
--------- 
 
¶5.  (U) Provincial reports by region follow: 
 
RC South: 
 
-- Nothing new to report. 
 
RC East: 
-- Ghazni PEO Rahimi called PRT Ghazni for urgent assistance early 
morning of August 21 at the Zana Khan District Center, claiming it 
was under attack.  He claimed 40 people inside (including 2 injured 
people) were in danger and that the election materials they had with 
them might be destroyed.  Polish Task Force White Eagle sent an 
air-ground Quick Reaction Force (QRF) to Zana Khan and determined 
that no fighting was in progress. 
-- PRT Bamyan reported that fourteen relatively minor, but 
unspecified, security incidents related to the election occurred 
August 19 and 20 at the Ish Pesta valley located in Kahmard District 
and in the Ghandak valley, Shibar District. 
-- In Laghman Province, PRT reported one attack in Qarghayi District 
on a polling site at a school near National Route 1, with small arms 
fire targeting a polling center after it closed.  No injuries or 
damage to materials reported. 
-- There were two incidents of elections-related violence in Alingar 
District.  In the first incident, angry locals allegedly blocked a 
convoy carrying materials from their village and broke several boxes 
of ballots (after counting).  No injuries were reported.  In the 
second incident, an ANP vehicle escorting an elections convoy struck 
a land mine with no injuries or damages to materials reported. 
RC North: 
 
-- Nothing new to report. 
 
RC West: 
 
-- Nothing new to report. 
 
RC Central: 
 
-- Nothing new to report. 
 
---------------------------- 
Voting & Counting Activities 
---------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (U) Seven teams from Embassy Kabul observed the counting phase 
at polling stations.  The IEC's late instructions that polling 
stations be kept open an extra hour caused confusion at many sites, 
where managers had already closed stations and sealed boxes at 
around 4 PM.  At some stations, ballot boxes had to be reopened, but 
seal numbers were carefully recorded.  The schedule change caused 
counting to go long into the night.  Where electricity flickered on 
and off, poll workers used battery-powered lanterns to count 
ballots. At one well-secured mosque in an old mud-bricked Hazara 
neighborhood of West Kabul, an ANP policeman was eager to go home, 
but he was unable to convince the polling center manager to hurry 
his meticulous preparations for counting. 
 
-- Embassy observers reported poll workers generally followed 
counting procedures, and observers witnessed few irregularities in 
counting.  Observer and candidate agent presence was heavy. 
-- Final turnout appeared to be moderate.  Karzai "won" at some 
polling stations, with Abdullah earning higher vote totals at 
others. 
¶7. (U) Provincial reports by region follow: 
 
RC South: 
 
-- Nothing new to report. 
 
RC East: 
 
-- Paktika PEO Taj Ali reports that not all stations in Paktika 
completed the process of counting and tabulating ballots after polls 
closed yesterday.  Ballot boxes were secured in place by ANSF until 
 
this morning, when counting across the province resumed around 8:00 
AM.  Taj Ali said he made this decision last night after DFCs 
reached out to him seeking a delay given that widespread AAF threats 
necessitated the shifting of ANSF assets away from polling sites 
throughout the province.  Taj Ali said he informed IEC-Kabul of this 
course of action, and told PRT that limited counting occured last 
night in more secure district centers, including the population 
centers of Orgun, Bermel, and Sarobi. 
 
-- Taj Ali is hopeful that most polling sites in Paktika would 
complete tabulation by noon on August 21.  In areas with high voter 
turnout, such as Khair Kot, tabulation is expected to extend into 
the afternoon.  Only Shakhelabad district has completed counting. 
Taj Ali told PRT that counting has gone smoothly this morning, with 
no security incidents perpetrated  against polling sites or staff. 
The process is on track to have all results returned to the IEC 
office in Sharana by August 24. 
-- Ghazni PEO reported that that all polling centers have concluded 
ballot counts across the province.  The PEO agreed to travel to FOB 
Ghazni to assist us with coordination on the retrieval of DFCs, vote 
tallies, and other appropriate election materials.  He said voting 
materials for Khogyani, Rashidan and Zana Khan districts are ready 
for pick-up by ISAF. 
-- Bamyan PRT representatives reporting 166 polling sites across 
Bamyan province.  Stations opened on time and TOLO TV covered the 
opening. Voting lines were longest before noon and slowed 
significantly later in the day.  Some of the hole punchers 
malfunctioned and officials improvised by using scissors.   Polls 
closed an hour late at 5:00 and ballot sorting commenced at 6:30 PM. 
  Tally sheets are scheduled to be transferred from the province to 
Kabul during August 21-25. 
-- The Laghman Provincial IEC representative reported to PRT that 
all ballots had been counted as of 11:00 a.m. on August 21.  All 
ballots from Mehtarlam (except for those from one village) and all 
ballots from Qarghayi had already been returned to the IEC.  Ballots 
from Dawlat Shah, Alingar, and Dawlat Shah are still on their way to 
their respective district centers. 
 
RC North: 
 
-- Nothing new to report. 
 
RC West: 
 
-- Nothing new to report. 
 
RC Central: 
 
-- Nothing new to report. 
 
 
----- 
Fraud 
----- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Provincial reports by region follow: 
 
RC South: 
 
-- PRT Lashkar Gah reports there are strong indications of ballot 
stuffing in Musa Qala and Nad Ali, where in both instances vote 
counts spiked late in the day despite the streets in those DCs being 
nearly empty; the dubious votes are for Karzai. 
 
RC East: 
 
-- The Paktika ECC office reports that no formal complaints have 
been raised since polls closed and counting began. 
-- Kapisa Province: Ballot Stuffing in Tagab district:  A reliable 
source reported to TF Warrior that he visited the voting site prior 
to any voters coming in and the ballot boxes were already full.  He 
specifically stated that no one had voted prior to these boxes being 
filled with counterfeit ballots.  Our source said that officials 
have been alerted to the problem. 
RC North: 
-- Nothing new to report. 
 
RC West: 
 
-- Nothing new to report. 
 
RC Central: 
 
-- Nothing new to report. 
 
-------------- 
Public Affairs 
-------------- 
 
¶9.  (U) NEW MESSAGING: 
¶Q. Have you seen reports that X campaign is announcing victory? 
We've seen these reports, but only the IEC is in a position to 
announce official results. We'll be waiting to hear from them, and 
from the Electoral Complaints Commission. Anything else is just 
speculation at this point. 
Background: Reuters and other major international newswires are 
reporting that Karzai's campaign has claimed victory in Thursday's 
election.  Meanwhile, Abdullah Abdullah's campaign has also claimed 
to lead with 63 percent of the vote.   The IEC has announced that 
"any result not announced by the IEC is unofficial, inaccurate and 
null and void." 
 
¶Q. Have you seen X report from X observer group? 
Several observer groups will make statements over the next week.  We 
are reviewing the report(s) as they come in. Observers play an 
important role in helping ensure a credible election. We appreciate 
their efforts in challenging circumstances. We look forward to 
hearing official results from the IEC. 
 
The Afghan people should be commended for their courage in 
conducting this election despite the stresses of wartime, and the 
logistical challenges of carrying out an election in Afghanistan, 
and we and the international community are proud to support them. 
 
The electoral process is now entering the critical phase of counting 
and verification of results. 
 
It will be several days before we have preliminary results and we 
hope initial reports will refrain from speculation until results are 
announced. Final results - which will be certified only by the 
Independent Electoral Commission -- could take several weeks. We 
call on candidates and their supporters to behave responsibly during 
and after the elections. 
 
The U.S. funded over 360 observers from independent international 
NGOs and from Embassy Kabul to observe the process.  These U.S. 
funded observers were present in 29 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces. 
 
¶10.  (U) AFGHAN MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS: 
 
-- The leading story in the Afghan media continues to coverage of 
the yesterday's press conference by President Karzai and the joint 
press conference by IEC, MOD, MOI, and NDS. 
Afghan media also continued to widely report on the reactions by the 
leaders of the international community to the Afghan elections day. 
(See Sitrep 11). 
 
-- Tolo TV reported that there were two polling centers in 
Pul-e-Alam, the capital of Logar province, where only 1,000 people 
voted.  The report also noted that women did not vote in Pul-e-Alam 
due to threats from the Taliban. 
 
-- Radio Salam Watandar reported on security incidents. One 
coalition soldier was reportedly wounded by an IED explosion in 
Logar, while three ANP were wounded during a separate incident in 
Maidan Wardak province. The report also mentioned that five 
civilians were wounded when a rocket landed in Kunduz province. 
 
-- Tolo TV continued to report that people under the age of 18 were 
seen voting for presidential and provincial council members in 
Bamiyan province. 
 
-- Pajhwok News Agency reported that male voters in some districts 
and the capital city of Paktika province were allowed to cast 
ballots on behalf of their female family members due to the lack of 
separate arrangements for female voters. 
 
 
EIKENBERRY