Media blackout puts Afghan poll in doubt

[IndianaGreen]

Media blackout puts Afghan poll in doubt

Friday 21 August 2009
by Paul Haste

Journalists have demanded that the Afghan government end the censorship of election reporting as votes continued to be counted in the occupied country's presidential poll.

International Federation of Journalists leader Aidan White insisted that "the world needs to know what's happening in the streets of Kabul - this ban on reporting is only encouraging ignorance, speculation and fear."

The demand came as the government's claim to have run free and fair elections, despite the presence of thousands of US and British soldiers, began to unravel.

Despite government attempts to restrict news, some journalists reported that election officials at a polling station near Kabul had recorded 5,530 ballots in the first hour of voting, even though no voters had been seen entering the booths.

Election workers then directed reporters to talk to a man who said he had already voted for President Hamid Karzai's re-election - even though his finger wasn't marked with the much-vaunted indelible ink intended to prevent fraud.

However, Mr Karzai's supporters did not let the reports prevent them from claiming victory.

http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/news/world/Media-blackout-puts-Afghan-poll-in-doubt