An investigation¹ by the BBC has found evidence of fraud and corruption³ in Afghanistan's presidential election.

BBC调查发现阿富汗总统选举存在欺诈和腐败的迹象。

Western officials have said a flawed election is better than none at all

Thousands of voting cards have been offered for sale and thousands of dollars offered in bribes⁴ to buy votes.

The findings come as campaigning closes ahead of Thursday's election in which incumbent⁵ President（现任总统） Hamid Karzai faces more than 30 challengers.

Early on Tuesday, two rockets hit targets in central Kabul, without causing injuries, Reuters reports.

One rocket caused some damage inside the presidential palace compound, and a second hit the city's police headquarters.

Militants⁶ have said they will disrupt the elections, and have already targeted the capital twice this month.

A Taliban spokesman quoted by Reuters claimed that four rockets had been fired in the latest attack.

Multiple voting cards

An Afghan working for the BBC went undercover in the capital Kabul to investigate reports that voting cards were being sold.

He was offered 1,000 cards, each costing around £6 ($10). Other vendors⁷（厂商，小贩） made similar offers.

It is impossible to know how many voting cards have been sold in such a manner, says the BBC's Ian Pannell in Kabul, but there have been a number of arrests.

Multiple voting cards are reported to have been issued to some individuals, while government workers have actively⁸ and illegally campaigned for candidates, says our correspondent.

An influential⁹ tribal¹⁰（部落的） leader in the north of the country said he had been offered thousands of pounds by campaign teams in exchange for delivering large blocks of votes.

Final rallies

An independent monitoring group said it had shown evidence of corruption to election officials but they had not acted on the information.

But Western officials have said that while the election will be flawed, Afghanistan should not be held to the same standards as elsewhere and that a flawed election is still better than no vote at all.

Mr Karzai is facing over 30 challengers but is seen as the frontrunner（候选人的领跑者） in the race.

On Monday, the notorious ex-warlord（军阀） and key ally（盟友，同盟国） of Mr Karzai, Gen Abdul Rashid Dostum flew in from Turkey to endorse¹¹ the president at his final campaign rally（集会）.

"We need to go with Hamid Karzai into the future," Gen Dostum told cheering supporters in Shiberghan, his home city.

Two of Mr Karzai's main rivals, who formerly¹² served under him as ministers, also held their own final rallies on Monday.

In the capital Kabul, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, addressed a crowd of 10,000 supporters, many wearing blue shifts or waving blue flags.

The ex-Finance Minister, Ashraf Ghani, addressed a rally of 5,000 in the eastern Nangarhar province.

Mr Ghani, who is running on a campaign of economic development, vowed¹³ to replace the "corrupt² government with a legitimate¹⁴（合法的，正当的） one", according to French news agency, AFP.

The UN and the US both expressed concern at the timing¹⁵ of Gen Dostum's return and any prospective¹⁶ role he may have in government.

In a live televised election debate on Sunday, Mr Karzai defended his alliances with several Afghan warlords, saying they served the interests of national unity¹⁷.