Kerry Urges Patience in Afghanistan
by VOA News July 12, 2014
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is meeting with outgoing Afghan President Hamid Karzai for a second time since Friday, in an attempt to end a crisis over the presidential election just months before international troops are scheduled to leave the country.
Earlier Saturday, Kerry held more talks in Kabul with Afghanistan's two presidential candidates, meeting first with Abdullah Abdullah and then with Ashraf Ghani. Both claim victory in the June 14 runoff to replace Karzai. Post-election tensions are high amid allegations of ballot fraud.
Kerry encouraged patience with the election process during a string of meetings Friday, the same day the United Nations publicized a plan to review ballots in the coming weeks.
Election audit
The U.N.'s two-week plan would review 3.5 million ballots from 8,050 polling stations - about 44 percent of all ballots cast.
Ghani spokesman Daud Sultanzoi told VOA's Afghan Service his team agreed with the proposal, which was discussed with Kerry Friday. Abdullah is asking for a more far-reaching review.
Results show Abdullah trailing Ghani by about 1 million votes, but Abdullah has alleged widespread fraud and ballot box stuffing. Final tallies are due the last week of July.
The United States says it does not take sides in the election, but does support a credible transparent process.
Kerry had already warned Abdullah against using extra-legal means to grab power after his running mate talked about setting up a parallel government.
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