UN fraud panel voids Karzai votes

UNITED Nations-backed fraud investigators have thrown out hundreds of thousands of votes for President Hamid Karzai in Afghanistan’s disputed August election, according to a report released yesterday.

The findings set the stage for a runoff between him and his top challenger.

It was unclear, however, whether the Afghan-ledIndependent Election Commission (IEC) would accept the findings of the Electoral Complaints Commission and announce a runoff.