Calls mount for UN help in Afghan election crisis

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A proposal for the U.N. to mediate a crisis over allegations of election fraud gained momentum Friday as President Hamid Karzai backed the idea and the U.N. said it stood ready to help.

Abdullah Abdullah, who is running against Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, has accused electoral officials and others of trying to rig the June 14 vote against him. That has threatened what Western officials had hoped would be a peaceful transfer of authority, as Karzai is constitutionally barred from seeking a third term.