Karzai acts to remove foreign election observers

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has approved the removal of foreign observers from the electoral watchdog tasked with reviewing voting fraud, his office says.

The supposed international electoral watchdog has been credited by the UN and Western governments with helping to expose a massive fraud in last year’s presidential poll, forcing Karzai into a second round of voting that was eventually cancelled due to his rival’s withdrawal.

The move gives President Karzai the power to appoint all five members of Afghanistan’s Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC).

Meanwhile, western diplomats have expressed deep concern at the decree by President Karzai granting him total control over a key electoral body.