Afghan vote generally fair, not free everywhere: EU observer

(KABUL) - Afghanistan's landmark elections this week were generally good and fair, but not free in some parts of the country due to violence and intimidation, the chief EU election observer said Saturday.

Philippe Morillon, a former French general heading the EU mission monitoring Afghanistan's presidential and provincial elections, reserved judgment on whether the elections had been credible, saying the process had just begun.

"Free was not the case in some parts of the territory due to terror installed," Morillon told a news conference, stressing it was still early days in assessing the presidential and provincial council elections.

"Fair -- generally what we have observed was considered by our observers with our methodology good and fair," he added.

The election, which took place on Thursday, has been widely hailed as a success by the international community, which has pumped billions into Afghanistan and deployed 100,000 troops to contain a Taliban insurgency.

"We can say it is a victory, a victory for the Afghan people," Morillon said, recognising that the Taliban threat to sabotage the vote was "real."

In the 24 hours beginning at 4:00 pm on the eve of polling day there were 270 incidents resulting "fortunately in a limited number of casualties, thanks to the vigilance and efficiency of the security forces," he said.

"There have been some areas in the country where it has been -- if not impossible -- it has been absolutely difficult to take part in the voting due to the real terror installed," Morillon said.

"As for credibility, it is the most important part. The process has not finished, it is just beginning," he said, adding that observers would monitor how any complaints were handled.

Other independent observers have warned that turnout in the south, where the Taliban are historically strong, could have been as low as 10 and 25-30 percent for the hotspots of Kandahar and Helmand respectively.

The EU Election Observation Mission to Afghanistan said that, based on preliminary findings, participation was "considerably higher in the north of the country and particularly low in the south" but had no precise figures.

President Hamid Karzai and his main rival former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah have both cited figures from their own election observers across the country as showing them in the lead.

"I will ask the candidates and President Karzai and Dr Abdullah Abdullah to calm... their supporters. We need to wait patiently for the results of this process," Morillon told the news conference.

In a statement issued in Brussels, the 27-member bloc said: "The EU takes note with concern of reports of irregularities and fraud. We trust that the Independent Election Commission, the Electoral Complaints Commission and the Media Complaints Commission will address all irregularities in a conscientious, transparent, impartial and timely manner."

The EU also repeated its call for candidates and their supporters to avoid "pre-judging" the result, which the Independent Election Commission has said will not be announced until September 3.

"Acknowledging that Afghanistan is now entering a new phase in the electoral process, the EU calls on all candidates to show continued responsibility and respect for the principles of democracy," it added.