Afghan vote boycott 'collapsing'
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Several candidates in Afghanistan's  presidential election appear set to drop calls for a boycott of the result.
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KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghanistan's first direct presidential election was thrust into turmoil hours after it started Saturday when all 15 candidates challenging interim leader Hamid Karzai alleged fraud over the ink meant to ensure people voted only once and vowed to boycott the results.    But electoral officials rejected the candidates' call to abandon the rest of the balloting, saying it would rob millions of voters of their chance to cast ballots and that they would rule later on the legitimacy of the election...
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KABUL, Afghanistan - All 15 candidates running against interim Afghan leader Hamid Karzai boycotted Afghanistan's historic election Saturday, claiming widespread fraud over the ink meant to ensure people voted only once.    The opposition candidates said they would not recognize the results of the vote because of what election officials described as a mix-up...
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Afghanistan&#39;s historic presidential election closed on Saturday without any of the feared large-scale violence but the vote was thrown into turmoil instead by a boycott called by most of the candidates.
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The main opponent of President Hamid Karzai in Saturday&#39;s elections in Afghanistan is backing off from a boycott of the vote-count.
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KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghanistan's first direct presidential election was thrust into turmoil hours after it started Saturday when all 15 candidates challenging interim leader Hamid Karzai said they would boycott the outcome because of potential fraud in the system designed to keep voters from casting more than one ballot.    The poll also was marred by violence, as militants ambushed police escorting boxes of ballots, killing three officers in the deadliest direct assault on the landmark post-Taliban vote, a senior official said...
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President Hamid Karzai's main challenger backed off a boycott of Afghanistan's landmark election over allegations of fraud, saying Monday that he would accept the formation of an independent commission to look into any irregularities in the vote.
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Afghanistan was set to start counting  votes on Wednesday from a historic presidential election after  several candidates backed off from declaring the poll illegal.
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KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghans packed polling stations on Saturday for a historic presidential election that was blemished when all 15 candidates opposing U.S.-backed interim President Hamid Karzai withdrew, charging the government and the U.N. with fraud and incompetence...
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Another top rival to Afghan election  frontrunner President Hamid Karzai ended his boycott of the  process on Wednesday, but vote counting was further delayed as  a panel began to sift through dozens of complaints of fraud.
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A top rival to Afghan election frontrunner President Hamid Karzai called off his boycott of the process on Wednesday, making it likely that the historic poll&#39;s result
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Election officials in Afghanistan  collected ballots on Sunday from a historic presidential vote  which started enthusiastically but ended in turmoil after most  of the candidates announced a boycott.
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KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghanistan's first direct presidential election was thrust into turmoil hours after it started Saturday when all 15 candidates challenging interim leader Hamid Karzai alleged fraud over the ink meant to ensure people voted only once and vowed to boycott the results.    But electoral officials rejected their demand that the vote be called off, saying an apparent mix-up with the ink was not severe enough to halt the historic vote...
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Afghanistan could degenerate into a  "failed state" if NATO were to pull out troops and abandon  efforts to stabilize the country, British Foreign Secretary  David Miliband said on Monday.
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The crisis surrounding Afghanistan's  historic presidential election appeared to end on Monday as  President Hamid Karzai's chief rival said he and other  candidates were withdrawing their rejection of the weekend  poll.
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President Hamid Karzai&#39;s main challenger Monday backed off a boycott of Afghanistan&#39;s landmark election over allegations of fraud, saying he would accept the formation of an independent commission to look into any irregularities in the vote.
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KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - Afghan opposition candidates are demanding that the country&#39;s first presidential election be called off, alleging widespread fraud.