The Afghan electoral crisis intensified today as Afghan election officials refused to accept findings of a UN-backed investigative panel that would force a runoff. The UN panel determined that allegedly fraudulent ballots reduced President Hamid Karzai’s portion of the vote to about 47 percent, less than the 50 percent threshold needed to avoid a runoff. But the Afghan Independent Election Commission, which is dominated by Karzai allies, has rejected the UN data. It is unclear what will happen if the election commission continues to reject the UN findings. Afghan law says the UN-backed panel is the final arbiter on complaints, but the Afghan election commission maintains it can contest at least parts of the investigation. The election dispute may play a critical role in the Obama administration’s decision-making process on whether to send more troops to Afghanistan. John Kerry, the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, addressed the issue in an interview with CNN.

Sen. John Kerry: “It would be entirely irresponsible for the President of the United States to commit more troops to this country when we don’t even have an election finished and know who the president is and what kind of government we’re working with. And when our own, you know, commanding general tells us that a critical component of achieving our mission here is in fact good governance, and we’re living with a government that we know has to change and provide it, how could the President responsibly say, 'Oh, they asked for more? Sure, here they are,' and we know that the two critical stools of counterinsurgency aren’t going to stand? That would be irresponsible for a president of the United States.”