| GEO World | | Afghan vote fair, not free everywhere: EU observer | Updated at: 1551 PST, Saturday, August 22, 2009
KABUL: Afghanistan's landmark elections this week were generally good and fair, but not free in some parts of the country due to violence and intimidation, the chief EU election observer said Saturday.
Philippe Morillon, a former French general heading the EU mission monitoring Afghanistan's presidential and provincial elections, reserved judgment on whether the elections had been credible, saying the process had just begun.
"Free was not the case in some parts of the territory due to terror installed," Morillon told a news conference, stressing it was still early days in assessing the presidential and provincial council elections.
"Fair generally what we have observed was considered by our observers with our methodology good and fair," he added.
The election, which took place on Thursday, has been widely hailed as a success by the international community, which has pumped billions into Afghanistan and deployed 100,000 troops to contain a Taliban insurgency.
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