UK 'won't support Afghan whitewash'

Britain will not be party to a "whitewash" in the Afghan elections, Foreign Secretary David Miliband has said.

Foreign Secretary David Miliband said the UK will not be party to a whitewash in the Afghan electi Foreign Secretary David Miliband said the UK will not be party to a 'whitewash' in the Afghan electi [PA]

Mr Miliband said that "free and fair" was not a description he would use about last month's presidential election and he held back from recognising any candidate as the winner.

Preliminary results issued in Afghanistan earlier this week suggested that incumbent president Hamid Karzai topped the 50% threshold required to avoid a second round ballot, but they have been denounced as rigged by his main challenger Dr Abdullah Abdullah.

Mr Miliband suggested that a "credible" future administration in Kabul would have to reflect the high levels of support won by former foreign minister Dr Abdullah in the poll.

The Foreign Secretary was speaking after reports cast fresh doubt on the reported results of voting in a town at the centre of a military offensive this summer in which 10 British soldiers died.

One of the stated aims of Operation Panther's Claw was to make fair elections possible in areas of Helmand province previously held by the Taliban, including the town of Babaji.

But the BBC reported that recounts have been ordered in three of Babaji's polling stations where President Karzai recorded a vote share of more than 96%. Some 4,300 votes were counted in the town's four polling stations, but an unnamed United Nations-appointed observer told the BBC that no more than 15 people voted at the station he attended, with Taliban shelling going on nearby.

"I estimate about half the people in that area would have voted for President Karzai, but no more than that - certainly nowhere near 100%," said the observer.

Mr Miliband told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We have been careful not to make any claims about the election until all the aspects are fully investigated. We will not be party to any whitewash in respect of this election. It is vital that there is a credible result that comes out of these elections."

He added: "I think the new government can be a legitimate and credible expression of the will of the Afghan people. We never use the phrase 'free and fair elections' because that is not really appropriate. Millions of people came out to vote. Their votes need to be properly recorded and acknowledged and their votes need to decide the shape of the new Afghan government."

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