Six presidential runners say partial returns unacceptable

KABUL) announced partial returns from the April 5 presidential elections, half a dozen candidates on Sunday rejected the outcome as unacceptable.

The returns based on 10 percent votes from 26 provinces put Abdullah Abdullah in the lead, amid recorded incidents of serious fraud.

Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai is in second place with 37.6 per cent and Zalmai Rassoul trailed far behind with 9.8 per cent.

Six candidates, including Rassoul, Gul Agha Sherzai, Qutbuddin Hilal, Hidayat Amin Arsala and Sultanzoy held a meeting at the residence of another candidate Abdul Rab Rassoul Sayyaf, a campaigner for Sayyaf, Jamaluddin Badr, told Pajhwok Afghan News.

After the meeting, he said, the candidates released a joint statement that said the IEC should have separated fraudulent votes before announcing the partial results.

The statement praised the Afghans for widely participating in the elections, but accused government and election officials of committing widespread fraud.

The candidates said the results were not acceptable to them and the election commission would be responsible for any negative repercussion.

They also decided to showcase evidence of fraud committed in the elections at a joint press conference in the near future.

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