KABUL (AP) — The outcry over alleged vote fraud in Afghanistan’s election escalated Sunday, with President Hamid Karzai’s chief opponent charging that turnout figures were padded and the chief fraud investigator saying some of the allegations were serious enough to influence the outcome if true. The controversy threatens to discredit an election that the Obama administration considers a key step in a new strategy to turn back the Taliban insurgency.—————Contact The Daily Reveille’s news staff at [email protected]