Photo: AP
Afghan President Hamid Karzai is blaming foreigners for widespread fraud during last year's presidential election.
Mr. Karzai told election workers on Thursday that Afghans were not responsible for the fraud. Instead, he accused United Nations officials of interfering with the outcome of the August 20 vote.
The Afghan leader singled out former U.N. deputy chief Peter Galbraith, who was fired after a dispute with his boss on how to deal with fraud allegations.
President Karzai was forced into a runoff election when a U.N.-backed commission threw out nearly a third of his ballots due to irregularities. A second vote never took place, because Mr. Karzai's rival dropped out of the race.
On Wednesday, Afghan lawmakers rejected President Karzai's bid to appoint three of the five members of the country's Electoral Complaint Commission. The commission played a key role in rejecting fraudulent ballots that benefited Mr. Karzai.
VOA NEWS
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