Afghan electoral commission head quits, clouding political landscape

Afghanistan's top electoral official resigned on Saturday, potentially complicating efforts to organize parliamentary elections for this autumn.

Ahmad Yousuf Nuristani, who has repeatedly accused the government of meddling in the electoral process, stepped down two years after himself being accused of failing to prevent fraud in a bitterly disputed presidential ballot.

A spokesman for the Independent Election Commission, which Nuristani chaired, said he had resigned in the "national interest", declining to comment further.

President Afghan Ghani accepted his resignation, the presidential palace said on its Twitter feed.  

Efforts by Reuters to contact Nuristani were not successful.

He was in charge of organizing the 2014 presidential election, the country's first democratic transfer of power, which descended into near-chaos when both Ghani and his rival, Abdullah Abdullah claimed victory.

Abdullah's supporters have long sought Nuristani's ouster, and Saturday's resignation might be seen as a concession to them. - Read More at the Reuters

Afghan electoral commission head quits, clouding political landscape

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