Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah (pictured November 2019) had refused to allow the recount in seven northern provinces, demanding the electoral commission first invalidate about 300,000 “fraudulent” ballots (WAKIL KOHSAR)
<p>Kabul (AFP) – Afghan presidential challenger Abdullah Abdullah on Friday ended his opposition to a recount in seven provinces after the September 28 election, which has been mired in fraud allegations.</p><p>The vote results have been repeatedly delayed — officially due to technical problems — as the incumbent, President Ashraf Ghani, and Abdullah wrangle for power.</p><p>Abdullah had refused to allow the recount in seven northern provinces, demanding that the electoral commission first invalidate about 300,000 "fraudulent" ballots out of a total of 1.8 million.</p><p>But on Friday, Abdullah, who currently serves as the country’s chief executive, said the recount could go ahead — potentially ending one obstacle to results finally being released.</p><p>"I call on the dignified people of Afghanistan to let the recount take place in seven provinces (out of a total of 34)," he told a press conference.</p><p>"Today the conflict and problem is between fraud and transparency — one side committed fraud and the other side wants transparency."</p><p>The election was meant to be the cleanest yet in Afghanistan’s young democracy, with a German firm supplying biometric machines to stop people from voting more than once.</p><p>But nearly a million of the initial votes were purged owing to irregularities, meaning the election saw by far the lowest turnout of any Afghan poll.</p><p>The ongoing uncertainty has raised the risk of a repeat of the crisis that followed the last presidential election in 2014. </p><p>Then, Ghani and Abdullah fought a close race that sparked widespread allegations of fraud and saw the US step in to broker an awkward power-sharing agreement between the rivals.</p><p></p>

Disclaimer: Validity of the above story is for 7 Days from original date of publishing. Source: AFP.