Abdullah sticks to his guns on vote count

KABUL (Pajhwok): Presidential candidate Dr. Abdullah Abdullah on Thursday reiterated that the electoral commissions’ decisions were unacceptable to his camp.

Addressing a news conference in Kabul, the former foreign minister blamed President Hamid Karzai, the Independent Election Commission and the Independent Electoral Complaints commission for the deadlock.

A day earlier, he had accused President Karzai of supporting his rival in Saturday’s runoff election, saying he no longer trusted the electoral bodies. He demanded an immediate stop to the vote-tallying process.

But the Presidential Palace poured scorn on his allegation that Karzai had supported Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai. Karzai’s deputy spokesman reiterated the president’s neutrality during the electoral process.

Abdullah said the international community, as Afghanistan’s partner in the electoral exercise, should see to it that global aid was spent properly and the polls conducted in a transparent manner.

The Reform and Unanimity team leader said he expected the global fraternity to stay fully, but it had remained silent on the massive scale of fraud in Saturday’s runoff election.

On Wednesday night, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan regretted the ex-minister’s expression of no-confidence in the electoral commission and his call for a halt to vote count.

He viewed the UN’s stance on continuation of the vote-tally process as unexpected of the world organisation. He proposed the creation a committee under the auspices of the United Nations to deal with the situation.

Speaking on the occasion, ex-governor of Nangarhar Gul Agha Sherzai said he was unhappy with the conduct of the electoral commission and the government. He accused the government and the commission of supporting a particular candidate.

 But the Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai-led Change and Continuity team rejected Abdullah’s accusations as unjustified and unacceptable. It called on the commission to press on with its work.

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