AN OPEN MIKE

by RAY FLEMING
IT is to be hoped that media reports of a division between the government and opposition over Afghanistan are incorrect. The reports resulted from what a TV microphone heard of an informal conversation between Mr Cameron and William Hague, the Shadow Foreign Secretary. Mr Cameron said: “The things that seem to have happened are so naked, you know, you saw the number of votes and the number of people who actually turned up at polling stations. It just could not possibly be right.” I think it's quite likely that if it had been Gordon Brown and David Miliband chatting together and being overheard in the same way, the words would not have been all that different. “Naked” is a good word to describe what has been happening in Afghanistan and I don't doubt that Mr Brown would share the view that it's not right. However there is a yawning gap between what one might feel personally and privately and the extent to which such feelings can be turned into policy.
In the end the government must place its reliance on the supervisory arrangements in existence. The United Nations-backed Electoral Complaints Commission (made up of two Afghan officials, and American, Canadian and Dutch members) has the power to nullify fraudulent votes and order a new ballot. It has received 720 major fraud complains and if these are to be investigated properly it will not be possible for the result of the election to be announced officially for some time.