First, Mr Karzai set up his own special court to investigate electoral fraud in the September elections, an initiative which the country's two election commissions declared illegitimate.

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The report also said the State Department argued some of the benchmarks related to a constitutional committee, legislation dealing with oil revenue, the creation of election commissions and the creation of Iraqi brigades were partially met.

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Confident in its right to rule, the Kremlin has banned opponents from television studios and electoral registers, put election commissions under its control and created political clowns and clones to create an appearance of democratic choice.

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