UN holds negotiations to broker Afghan election deal
Iran Press TV
Tue Jun 24, 2014 4:20PM GMT
The United Nations says it had stepped in to help broker a solution to Afghanistan's election crisis, hosting talks between presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah and the election authority that he boycotted over alleged vote fraud.
"The IEC (Independent Election Commission) and presidential candidate Dr. Abdullah Abdullah met last night in an encounter facilitated by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA)," the UN said in a statement on Tuesday.
The international body further noted, "UNAMA will continue to support the electoral process that remains fully in the hands of Afghan electoral institutions and stakeholders."
The UN decision came after a senior Afghan election official stepped down amid a deepening crisis over allegations of fraud in the country's runoff presidential election.
Zia-ul-Haq Amarkhail, head of the secretariat of the IEC, resigned on Monday after Abdullah's team released recordings, accusing him of misdeeds in the transfer of unused ballots during the June 14 run-off poll.
The total 13-minute audio files, which are of poor quality, purportedly contain conversations among Amarkhail, other IEC officials and a member of rival presidential candidate Ashraf Ghani's campaign.
In one recording, Amarkhail supposedly reassures the member of Ghani's team that the IEC staff will be 'used' in favor of his election.
Abdullah says evidence suggests that some ballot boxes were filled with votes a day before the run-off election.
Reports on the vote counting so far show that Ghani is ahead, despite the fact that Abdullah received nearly 45 percent of votes in the election's first round back in April.
The preliminary result of the election is due on July 2 and the final result, after adjudication of complaints, is scheduled for July 22. The winner will succeed outgoing President Hamid Karzai, who has been in power since the US-led invasion of the country in 2001.
MP/NN
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
