The Wire

Afghanistan appears headed for a second election, after approximately a million votes for the incumbent, President Hamid Karzai were ruled invalid. This pushed his vote below the 50 percent required to govern outright. It follows the August election, which saw evidence of widespread ballot-rigging. This included thousands of identically marked ballot sheets, and poll returns from voting centres that never actually opened. A US commitment of 40,000 additional troops depends on settling the dispute over the election outcome.