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Riz Khan
The UN's agenda in Afghanistan
The former UN diplomat who accused the body of downplaying election fraud talks to Riz.
Last Modified: 06 Oct 2009 13:10 GMT

There have been allegations of fraud in Afghanistan's August 20 elections [AFP]
On Monday, Riz speaks with Peter Galbraith, the former UN diplomat who was just fired from his post in the UN mission in Afghanistan.

Galbraith says he could not be silent as he watched the UN "downplay the fraud that took place" in the Afghan elections on August 20.

Preliminary results show that Hamid Karzai, the incumbent Afghan president, won 54.6 per cent of the vote - more than the 50 per cent needed to win re-election without a run-off.

An audit of suspect ballots is underway, but UN officials expect the final results to be announced on Wednesday.

Galbraith was appointed deputy head of the UN mission in Afghanistan after Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, finally bowed to pressure from the administration of Barack Obama, the US president, in March.

Now the former US ambassador's accusations of a UN "cover up" raise questions over the state of political reconstruction in Afghanistan, and the UN's agenda in the country.

This episode of the Riz Khan show aired from Monday, October 5.
Source:
Al Jazeera
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