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Karzai elected President of Afghanistan

Interim Afghan leader Hamid Karzai was today declared winner of the first direct presidential elections in Afghanistan’s history. Citizens of that county, who lived under hardline Taliban rule for more than a decade, went to the polls on October 9. Official results have been held up while the U.N.-Afghan Joint Electoral Management Body investigated allegations of fraud.

Karzai won over 55 percent of the vote, easily avoiding a runoff election that would have been required if no candidate had earned a majority.

Nearly 80 percent of registered voters went to the polls in Afghanistan, despite bad weather and insurgent attacks. Of note, that is about 20 percent higher than voter participation this year in the United States—our highest turnout since 1968.

Scott Bradford has been putting his opinions on his website since 1995—before most people knew what a website was. He has been a professional web developer in the public- and private-sector for over twenty years. He is an independent constitutional conservative who believes in human rights and limited government, and a Catholic Christian whose beliefs are summarized in the Nicene Creed. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Public Administration from George Mason University. He loves Pink Floyd and can play the bass guitar . . . sort-of. He’s a husband, pet lover, amateur radio operator, and classic AMC/Jeep enthusiast.