MPs urge Abdullah to act himself as CEO

KABUL — upper house of parliament — on Tuesday condemned the way presidential election results were announced by the commission.

They also asked Dr. Abdullah to work himself as chief executive and avoiding nominating someone else for the slot. The lawmakers took a swipe at President Karzai for flaws and weakness of the two main electoral bodies.

The electoral deadlock ended after six months of crisis on Sunday when both contenders Dr. Abdullah and Dr. Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai signed a deal for the formation of a unity government.

Following the breakthrough, the Independent Election Commission (IEC) announced the results of the elections without giving facts and figures about the votes.

Senator Bismillah Afghanmal denounced the way the election results were unveiled. After spending hundreds millions of dollars and, the IEC refused to release the precise final tallies.

Experts believe that immense pressure from various segments of society, notably from Abdullah’s camp and the UN mission in Kabul, forced the poll panel into keeping vote totals under wraps.

However, leaked results showed Ahmadzai won about 55 percent and Abdullah 45 percent of votes.

“The commission has violated the law by dodging its duty to announce the counts,” said Dastagir Hidayat, a political expert. “This act not only raises questions in voters’ minds but also harms IEC reputation,” Hidayat argued.

Shahla Farid, a Kabul University professor, said the panel had hammered the last nail in the coffin of democracy in Afghanistan by not releasing the vote totals. She also believed the election body was under immense pressure.

“Had the chief election commissioner, who has proven himself incapable, ensured transparency in the first round, the entire process would not have been disgraced the way it has been,” she remarked.

Abdul Hamid Mubarez, a senior journalist, insisted on the IEC to announce the vote counts so that people were enlightened about the fraud committed.

On Sunday, the IEC chief congratulated Ashraf Ghani on his victory in the presidential election and Abdullah on being named as chief executive.

Shahla said the text of the result was prepared with the consent of both candidates. She alleged congratulating contestants was an illegal act on the part of the IEC chairman.

nh/mud

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