Afghanistan Chief Electoral Officer Resigns Amid Vote Fraud Allegations --- Amarkhil Denies Fraud Accusations by Presidential Candidate Abdullah Abdullah -- KABUL—Afghanistan's chief electoral officer resigned Monday amid fraud allegations, prompting presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah to say he was ready to resume cooperation with election authorities. -- "The door is now open for us to get to talk to the [election] commission and talk about the conditions and circumstances which will help the process," said Mr. Abdullah, who had accused the official, Ziaulhaq Amarkhil, of perpetrating massive vote fraud. "We do believe in the transparency of the process, and we want the credibility of the process." --- Mr. Amarkhil's resignation came a day after Mr. Abdullah's campaign released recordings of what it alleges are phone conversations in which the electoral officer discussed ways of rigging the June 14 vote in favor of former finance minister Ashraf Ghani. Mr. Amarkhil said Monday that the recordings were fabricated and denied any involvement in fraud. --- "This was a conspiracy against me. It was plotted by those people who want to damage the national process," Mr. Amarkhil said. He added that he resigned "for the sake of the trust in the process." Mr. Ghani's presidential campaign, in a statement, also rejected the allegations that Mr. Amarkhil had committed fraud to help Mr. Ghani. --- Shortly after the runoff, Mr. Abdullah pulled his observers from the vote count and said he would not recognize the election's results because he doesn't trust the election authorities. The removal of Mr. Amarkhil was one of his demands. -- "It seems that the deadlock is broken and the process should go ahead," said Idrees Zaman, an analyst at Cooperation for Peace and Unity, a think tank in Kabul. "Mr. Amarkhil's resignation has been a face-saving way for him to rejoin this process." -- The move doesn't mean an end to the crisis, though. On Monday, Mr. Abdullah demanded that another round of the election be carried out in the parts of the country with the most suspicious results, especially in eastern and southern Afghanistan. -- Mr. Amarkhil had resisted such proposals, saying that a third round isn't something permissible under Afghan law. - More, WSJ, http://online.wsj.com/articles/afghanistan-chief-electoral-officer-resigns-1403526114