Tuesday, July 08, 2014

Ghani Leads Afghan Vote, But Fraud Charges Hang Over Results --- Election Panel Declares Leader, but No Winner, Saying Results Could Change After a Review Involving the U.N. -- KABUL— Ashraf Ghani edged closer to becoming Afghanistan's next president after winning a majority of votes in a preliminary count of last month's election, but officials stopped short of declaring a winner as millions of ballots could still be reviewed for fraud allegations. -- The country's election commission said Monday that Mr. Ghani, a former finance minister, had won 56.4% of the vote in a preliminary count, against Mr. Abdullah's 43.6%. -- The country's election commission said Monday that Mr. Ghani, a former finance minister, had won 56.4% of the vote in a preliminary count, against Mr. Abdullah's 43.6%. -- But with his rival Abdullah Abdullah alleging widespread fraud in the June 14 runoff vote, the political crisis over the validity of the election's results remained unresolved. --- One of Mr. Abdullah's most prominent supporters, northern Balkh province's powerful Gov. Atta Mohammad Noor, called late Monday for "widespread civil unrest" and warned of forming a "parallel government." -- That statement drew a swift condemnation from U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who was speaking at the Yokota Air Base in Japan en route to high-level talks in China. -- "There is no justifiable recourse to violence or threats of violence, or for resort to extra-constitutional measures or threats of the same," Mr. Kerry said. -- "Any action to take power by extralegal means will cost Afghanistan the financial and security support of the United States and the international community," he added. -- The official turnout in the Afghan election—8.1 million votes—was significantly higher than experts had predicted. Mr. Abdullah, a former foreign minister, alleged that as many as two million of these ballots were fraudulent. -- Yusuf Nuristani, the chairman of the Independent Election Commission, said the results released on Monday were subject to change after an investigation of fraud complaints by the country's election watchdog, the Independent Electoral Complaints Commission. --"Today's announcement won't be the declaration of the winner of the election," he said. "Changes may come after investigation by the IECC." -- The IECC has several weeks to review complaints of voting irregularities. -- "I am calling on supporters of both candidates to be calm and control their emotions until the announcement of the final result," Mr. Nuristani said. -- Mahmud Saikal, a spokesman for Mr. Abdullah, rejected the preliminary results. "Whatever is released by the IEC has no recognition whatsoever for us," he said. -- The Ghani camp didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on the announcement. -- Before the release of Monday's results, observers for both candidates estimated a lead of over a million votes for Mr. Ghani. Mr. Abdullah's campaign team cried foul, claiming widespread ballot-stuffing on behalf of his opponent. --- In a statement, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said a full investigation of fraud allegations was needed to ensure confidence in the final outcome. -- "A full and thorough review of all reasonable allegations of irregularities is essential to ensure that the Afghan people have confidence in the integrity of the electoral process and that the new Afghan president is broadly accepted inside and outside Afghanistan," it said. -- The U.S. statement, citing Afghan election authorities, said that those reviews could potentially affect more than 3 million ballots. -- The government has set Aug. 2 as an inauguration date for Mr. Karzai's successor, but it is unclear how the impasse over vote counting will be resolved by then. --- Andrew Wilder, vice president of the Center for South and Central Asia at the United States Institute of Peace, said the release of the results might help foster negotiations between the two parties. -- "It's useful to have the preliminary results out there," he said. "It might give some momentum to the behind-the-scenes political processes that need to happen as well." -- Mr. Wilder said the deteriorating security situation in parts of Afghanistan, as well as a looming economic crisis, meant there was little public patience for a monthslong fight over the outcome of the vote. Both candidates, he added, see an urgent need for Afghanistan to conclude a bilateral security agreement with the U.S. -- "There's a not a lot of appetite among the Afghan public for this to go on and on," Mr. Wilder said. "They want to see a result peacefully and soon." --- In recent days, three top U.S. lawmakers—Republican Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina as well as Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D., Mich.)—have met with the candidates to urge them to accept the outcome of the election, despite the demands it has placed on Afghanistan's budding democracy. --- Afghans and international officials alike worry that a botched election could lead to a return to civil war, particularly as some voters have mobilized along ethnic lines. - More, WSJ, http://online.wsj.com/articles/ashraf-ghani-takes-lead-in-afghan-election-1404747640

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