Observers approve Afghan poll, Karzai vows 'no horse trading'

KABUL, Oct 10 (AFP) - Observers gave their approval Sunday to Afghanistan's landmark presidential election, deeming it "fairly democratic" and rejecting opposition calls for a new vote on the grounds of fraud.
Claims of voting irregularities had tainted the jubilation among electors but the polls were hailed around the world for the strong turnout and lack of violence.
"A fairly democratic environment has generally been observed in the overall majority of the polling centres," the local Free and Fair Elections Foundation of Afghanistan declared.
The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which sent advisers to help with monitoring the polling, said Saturday's demand by 14 opposition candidates to nullify the election was "unjustified".
Afghanistan's human rights organisation too strongly urged the creation of a mechanism to study complaints of fraud in the election process.
Interim President Hamid Karzai Sunday angrily rejected a suggestion that problems with the election meant that he would be reduced to "horse-trading" with his opponents.
"No horse trading," he snapped in reply to a question at a news conference. "If I'm elected no horse trading, no horse trading!
"The time for horse trading is over in Afghanistan. The people of Afghanistan came in millions to put an end to that."
Most opposition candidates, including powerful regional leaders and some who have large private militias, have condemned Saturday's election as fraudulent and illegitimate.
One of the main charges was that the special ink which was supposed to stain voters' fingers to prevent them voting twice could be washed off.
Some of the protest candidates took a softer stance Sunday, saying they would bow to the findings of an independent inquiry including United Nations officials and their own representatives.
Afghanistan's electoral management body is working on a mechanism to investigate complaints about the conduct of the vote, a UN spokesman said.
"I believe that the intention is to have a mechanism that expands into what is already in place in order to review all the complaints and have all the transparency required," said Manoel de Almeida e Silva.
It was the first time Afghans had voted for a president and it was necessary that Afghans trusted the result, he said.
The US-backed Karzai, who was always expected to win, called the vote a "defeat of terrorism".
"The Afghan people yesterday won the day, against terrorism, against all those who said that Afghans could not make it," he told BBC television from Kabul.
Afghanistan's first experience in democracy saw a huge attendance at voting booths and the absence of feared attacks by the former Taliban rulers, who have killed hundreds of people including 12 electoral workers this year.
The hardline regime was ousted three years ago by US-led forces for refusing to hand over Osama bin Laden, mastermind of the September 11 terror attacks.
Despite bitter pledges by Taliban loyalists' to disrupt the election, turnout among the 10.5 million registered voters was "massive," the United Nations said.
US national security adviser Condoleezza Rice said Sunday that problems with anti-fraud ink would not affect the outcome of Afghanistan's election, which she said would be found legitimate.
"I think you will see that there will be a mechanism to resolve these concerns within the context of the Afghan election law. But this was an extraordinary day for the Afghan people, and this election is going to be judged legitimate. I'm just certain of it," she said.
On the ground Sunday ballot boxes were being ferried to counting centres in eight towns. Preliminary results may be available in a couple of days, UN officials said.
The biggest threat to the polls' ultimate success is now the opposition's rejection of the vote, and Western diplomats were Sunday believed to be holding meetings with Karzai's main opponent, Yunus Qanooni.
The Northern Alliance-backed Qanooni was the only candidate among those who objected to the vote who was considered likely to make a strong showing.
If he agrees to a deal of some kind, despite Karzai's "no horse trading" tirade, much of the sting would be taken out of the opposition's objections to the election.