Afghani Elections ‘Democratic Enough’

The international community has declared that the first presidential elections in Afghanistan were "sufficiently democratic" despite a boycott by all of the candidates except interim President Hamid Kharzai.

The United Nations’ (UN) Afghanistan Representative office and other international institutions that have been criticized for the ink controversy said the elections were "sufficiently democratic" and added that it was a great success that the elections were even held. Authorities have said that a new election is not possible and that they are trying to convince Kharzai’s opponents of this. According to preliminary results, Kharzai has received more than 50 percent of the total votes cast followed by Yunus Kanuni with 19 percent. The final results will be determined within three weeks.