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Afghan election bribe attempt caught on video
An elderly blonde woman in glasses was videotaped apparently soliciting a bribe to manipulate the results of Afghanistan's parliamentary election, in the latest controversy to emerge from an increasingly messy vote.
Two members of the election commission identified the woman as Katona Magda Nasrin, a Hungarian who worked with the Foundation for Afghanistan. The group was registered as an observer with the Independent Election Commission to monitor the Sept. 18 vote.
"What she has done is against the laws of Afghanistan," said election commissioner Zekria Barekzai, adding that the Afghan government, working through its embassy in Hungary, is pursuing the case.
The tape first aired Friday night on the Emrooz television station, and a copy was obtained by The Washington Post. On the broadcast, the woman was identified as working for Afghanistan's Electoral Complaints Commission, which investigates voting fraud. A spokesman for that commission denied she had worked there.