Afghanistan's Latest Crisis

It could have been a watershed moment for Afghanistan, the first democratic transition in the nation’s history. Instead, quarreling over yet unreleased election results is turning uglier by the hour, threatening to push the country into paralysis at best, or more likely turmoil and violence. After a couple of days of accusing his opponent, Ashraf Ghani, of vote rigging, presidential hopeful Abdullah Abdullah demanded on Wednesday that election organizers stop counting ballots because of what one of his officials has called “industrial-scale fraud.” "The counting process should stop immediately and if that continues, it will have no legitimacy," Abdullah, seen by many as the frontrunner before Saturday’s vote, told reporters. "From now on, today, we announce that we have no confidence or trust in the election bodies." His effective boycott of the official electoral system comes at a crucial time for the country. With foreign troops packing up and resources for domestic security winding down, a full-blown power struggle with ethnic overtones is the last thing Afghanistan needs.