Helicopter with ballots crashes; will delay counting in remote Afghan province

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) � A U.N. helicopter hauling ballots from remote villages in northeastern Afghanistan crash-landed in a snowy field Tuesday. Nobody was injured and no ballots were lost, but officials said the accident would delay vote counting from rugged Badakhshan province.

The crash was the latest snag holding up the massive task of recovering and tabulating ballots from Afghanistan's first presidential election Saturday. The tally was to begin Wednesday at the earliest, and final results were not expected until late October.

The helicopter went down at high altitude in an area known as the Wakhan corridor, which has few roads, said David Avery, chief of operations for the Joint Electoral Management Body.

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"We don't think we'll be able to recover the helicopter," he said. Badakhshan province borders China, Tajikistan and Pakistan.

Chances for a conclusive result improved Monday after interim President Hamid Karzai's main challenger, ethnic Tajik candidate Yunus Qanooni, backed away from a boycott of the vote, indicating he'd accept an independent commission to investigate vote-fraud allegations.

Karzai is the clear favorite to win, but his ability to consolidate his rule would be undermined if the opposition refuses to acknowledge the vote results.

oh boy..... more election problems.... and this time it's not in the U.S.