KABUL: Afghanistan’s Electoral Complaints Commission ruled on Thursday that votes cast in the capital Kabul during last October’s parliamentary election were invalid, citing fraud and mismanagement.
The ruling must be upheld by the Independent Election Commission, the body with overall authority over the ballot, which was marred by allegations of voter fraud, technical problems with biometric voter verification equipment and inaccurate voter lists.
“There were serious outstanding problems in Kabul that could hurt the fairness, transparency and inclusiveness of the election,” said Ali Reza Rohani, spokesman for the Electoral Complaints Commission.
More than a million votes were recorded in Kabul, accounting for about a quarter of the roughly 4 million votes cast nationwide. If confirmed by the IEC, the decision would call into question the validity of an election heavily pushed by Afghanistan’s international partners.
The recommendation to cancel the vote in Kabul also adds to uncertainty over the April 20 presidential election. Election authorities have said they are considering postponing the vote until July due to organizational difficulties.
Any delay to the presidential election could affect hoped-for peace talks with the Taliban, which have opened contacts with the United States but so far refused to talk to the government of President Ashraf Ghani.
Authorities have still not released complete results from the Oct. 20 parliamentary ballot, which saw chaotic delays that forced voting to continue into the following day.
Afghan election complaint body says vote in capital Kabul invalid
Afghan election complaint body says vote in capital Kabul invalid
- “There were serious outstanding problems in Kabul that could hurt the fairness, transparency and inclusiveness of the election”
- More than a million votes were recorded in Kabul, accounting for about a quarter of the roughly 4 million votes cast nationwide
February fifth warmest on record, extreme rain in Europe: EU monitor
- Global temperatures last month were 1.49C above preindustrial times
- Temperatures and precipitation varied widely in Europe
PARIS: The world logged its fifth hottest February on record, with western Europe drenched by extreme rainfall and widespread flooding, the European Union’s climate monitor said on Tuesday.
Global temperatures last month were 1.49C above preindustrial times, defined as the 1850-1900 period before large-scale fossil fuel use drove climate change.
Temperatures and precipitation varied widely in Europe.
The average temperature in Europe was among the three coldest in the past 14 years at -0.07C.
But western, southern and southeast Europe experienced above-average temperatures, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service.
Colder conditions were experienced in northwest Russia, Baltic countries, Finland and its Scandinavian neighbors.
“Wet and dry conditions across the continent showed a pronounced contrast: much of western and southern Europe was wetter than average, whereas the rest of the continent... was mostly drier than average,” the service said in its monthly report.
The United States, northeast Canada, the Middle East, Central Asia and east Antarctica had warmer-than-average temperatures.
- Need for global action -
Sea surface temperatures were the second highest for the month of February.
In the Arctic, the average sea ice extent was at its third lowest level for the month at five percent below average.
In the Antarctic, the monthly sea ice extent was close to average for February — a “sharp contrast to the much below-average” levels observed over the past four years, Copernicus said.
“The extreme events of February 2026 highlight the growing impacts of climate change and the pressing need for global action,” said Samantha Burgess, strategic lead for climate at the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, which operates Copernicus.
“Europe experienced stark temperature contrasts,” Burgess said.
“Exceptional atmospheric rivers — narrow bands of very moist air — brought record rainfall and widespread flooding to western and southern Europe,” she said.
Human-driven climate change intensified torrential downpours that killed dozens and forced thousands of people from their homes across Spain, Portugal and Morocco between January and February, according to the World Weather Attribution (WWA) network of climate scientists.
