Afghan President Hamid Karzai has acknowledged that some government officials showed bias towards him in the recent election, though he believes strongly in the integrity of the vote.
The incumbent Afghan president's remarks came one day after the full preliminary election results were released, showing Karzai with 54.6 per cent of the vote.
If the results were to stand as-is, Karzai would not have to take part in a run-off vote against his main opponent, Abdullah Abdullah, because he captured more than half of the overall ballots. However, both men have accused the other's side of stuffing ballot boxes.
And a UN-backed election commission is still sorting out allegations of voting fraud and has ordered a recount of 10 per cent of polling stations. So far, the results from 83 polling stations have been thrown out because of "clear and compelling" evidence of fraud.
On Thursday, Karzai admitted to reporters that "there were some government officials who were partial toward me," but he claimed other officials preferred Abdullah. And the Afghan president claimed that he had only seen concrete evidence that 1,200 ballots were bogus.
"I believe firmly in the integrity of the election, in the integrity of the Afghan people and in the integrity of the government in that process," Karzai said.
But he stopped short of claiming victory in the election. Instead, Karzai made reference to initiatives he would take "if I am declared president."
CTV's South Asia Bureau Chief, Janis Mackey Frayer, said Karzai and his supporters have been told not to make statements about the outcome of the election -- though the Afghan president appears to be ignoring the advice.
Abdullah also spoke to reporters on Thursday, saying that using the results of the tainted vote would establish "illegitimate rule" and open a door to Taliban influence.
"Illegitimate rule can only help the insurgency to strengthen," Abdullah said when speaking to reporters at his house, following Karzai's remarks.
Other challenges
But the challenges of sorting out allegations of voting fraud -- a process that is still expected to take weeks to complete -- are not the only problems facing the war-torn country. As casualties continue to mount among international troops, the public support for the Afghan mission appears to be waning in some places, such as in the U.S. where a debate rages over whether to send in more American troops. NATO is also fighting a public perception that it cannot succeed in its mission.
Christopher Alexander, Canada's former ambassador to Afghanistan, said that things are not as grim in Afghanistan as critics make them out to be.
The violence that rages in the southern provinces in Kandahar and Helmand gets a lot of press because of the number of Canadian and U.K. troops stationed there, he said. But they are making a difference through their work.
"The situation in Kandahar and Helmand... is not at all like the situation in the rest of the country," he told CTV's Canada AM during an interview in Toronto. "And if the fighting is intense in those provinces, it is to the benefit of 32 other provinces that are being screened from the violence that the Taliban are trying to bring to the whole country."
Also, the international community has renewed its focus on the problems in Afghanistan and is committed to the Afghan mission, he said.
"The whole international community has chosen to make Afghanistan a priority. The UN is unanimous that this mission should be taking place. China, Russia, the United States, France, the U.K., everyone agrees it has to be carried through to a conclusion," Alexander said.
Air strike controversy
Also on Thursday, an Afghanistan presidential commission said 30 civilians and 69 Taliban militants died when NATO forces attacked two hijacked fuel tankers on Sept 4.
The German-ordered U.S. air strike killed dozens, after civilians had gathered at the fuel tankers, trying to siphon leaking fuel at the site.
An additional nine civilians and 11 Taliban militants were wounded in the same incident.
The commission said NATO had erred in calling in the bombing and said the Taliban had put civilians' lives at risk "in an inhuman act."
With files from The Associated Press
