Kunar governor accused of fraud in council polls

ASADABAD (PAN): Hundreds of people rallied for the fourth consecutive day on Saturday in Asadabad, the capital of eastern Kunar province, against the governor for what they alleged committing fraud in recently held provincial council administrative board’s polls.    

The protest against Governor Syed Fazlullah Wahidi started last week after failing candidates claimed the elections had been rigged.   

An organizer of the protest, Haji Noorudin, told Pajhwok Afghan News they would continue the rally until the governor was removed. He alleged the governor had transferred ballot boxes to his office and stuffed them with bogus votes in favour of a candidate of his choice.

The protestors, chanting slogans against the governor, also burnt tyres on roads. “People want peace and stability, but officials want to create rifts among people,” another protestor, Salahuddin said.

However Wahidi dismissed the claims as baseless, saying no fraud had been committed in the polls which took place under observation of the Independent Election Commission (IEC). He said failing candidates had created the controversy.

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