Accept vote audit outcome, candidates urged

KABUL (Pajhwok): US Secretary of State John Kerry has been in touch with the presidential runners to ensure implementation of the agreement on a government of national unity and respect for the outcome of the vote audit.

Under a deal brokered by Kerry, Dr. Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai and Dr. Abdullah Abdullah had pledged to form a national unity government and respect the result of the UN-supervised audit of all eight million ballots.

At a news conference in Washington on Monday, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the Obama administration expected the candidates to remain committed to the process told reporters.

Hours before the media briefing, Abdullah said he rejected the result of the mid-June runoff election. He made clear he would not accept a government elected through electoral fraud.

Reacting to the ex-foreign minister’s statement, Psaki said: “Dr Abdullah has indicated consistently that he will abide by the (Afghan) constitution. “I would also note he rejected violence, he called on all Afghans to remain calm in the coming days.”

She believed the audit process was still ongoing under the supervision of the United Nations. “And so we’re continuing to work with the candidates to determine how we can resolve this moving forward.”

She hoped the candidates and their supporters would remain committed to the electoral process and respect its conclusion. She insisted it was in the best interests of the Afghan people to have a united government moving forward.

On Sunday, President Barack Obama urged the candidates to come to an agreement on the national unity government to end the crisis. In telephone calls with both, Obama emphasised the importance of concluding the deal as soon as possible.

PAN Monitor/mud

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