EU scales back positive appraisal of Afghan elections

The EU on Thursday scaled back its initial optimistic assessment of the Afghan elections, as the electoral commission in Kabul for the first time invalidated ballots from dozens of polling stations due to fraud.

Initially, the EU hailed the Afghan presidential poll held on 20 August as "an achievement of the Afghan people" and praised the government for ensuring the elections, despite attacks by the Taliban insurgency.

But in a press statement issued on Thursday (10 September), t...