Disputed Afghan Election Leads to U.N. Staff Shake-up

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• MARGARET WARNER:

  Exactly six weeks have passed since Afghanistan's presidential election, and the outcome is still unresolved. Last month, Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission reported preliminary results showing incumbent President Hamid Karzai had won 54.6 percent of the vote.

  But amid allegations of ballot box stuffing and fraud, a higher body, the United Nations-backed Electoral Complaints Commission, ordered a partial recount. Now the U.N.'s lead entity in Kabul, the U.S. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, has also become embroiled in the election dispute.

  Yesterday, the U.N. dismissed the top U.S. official at the mission, former Ambassador Peter Galbraith, after a falling-out with his boss, U.N. Special Representative Kai Eide, over how to deal with the widespread charges.

  In a letter to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon Monday, Galbraith charged that Eide had shown partiality to the Karzai government, refusing to take steps to prevent the fraud, and trying to conceal it afterwards. He said Eide "blocked me and other U.N. staff from taking effective action that might have limited the fraud or enabled the Afghan electoral institutions to address it more effectively."

  But Ban fired Galbraith from the Kabul post and issued a statement reaffirming his full support for Eide. He said he "made this decision in the best interest of the mission."

  Last night, Eide defended his handling of the election controversy to the New York Times: "I completely reject that I have been more favorable to one candidate than to any other," he said. "The disagreement was whether to respect the Afghan constitution and respect the process in place."

  Now, to debate Galbraith's charges on how the U.N. dealt with the election fraud, we have Peter Galbraith. He's held a number of U.S. and U.N. diplomatic posts, including as U.S. ambassador to Croatia in the Clinton administration.

  From the United Nations, we have Edmond Mulet, assistant secretary general for peacekeeping operations. His department oversees the U.N. mission in Kabul.

  And welcome to you both. Thank you both for being with us.

  Mr. Galbraith, beginning with you, these are very serious charges. Let's start with the run-up to the elections. You say that the U.N. special representative failed and blocked you from taking steps that could have prevented or limited the fraud. What could the U.N. have done?