Avoid the Rush to Judgment in the Afghan Election

In the 48-hour period after the polls closed here in Afghanistan, there has been a quick rush to judge on the elections here, long before the votes are tabulated and the process for dealing with complaints has even gotten underway.

As a member of an international observer delegation organized by Democracy International, I've been asked questions that simply can't be answered at this point, because no one has enough information to know what actually transpired in Thursday's elections. Different groups have a collection of anecdotes and observations from around the country. But that's all they are—anecdotes and qualitative observations. Will that stop groups from holding press conferences this weekend or analysts from penning opinion editorials drawing grand conclusions for U.S. strategy as a result of the elections? Don't bet on it—the mad rush is spin the elections is already happening.

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This article was originally published in Foreign Policy.