KABUL (Pajhwok): The Independent Electoral Complaints Commission (IECC) on Monday said 65,000 to 80,000 votes would have been invalidated and the election results changed had a proper vote audit and recount been conducted.
Mualvi Din Mohammad Azimi, IECC deputy chief, told civil society activists during a meeting that the Independent Election Commission (IEC) did not implement IECC decisions as per procedures.
He said around 65,000 to 80,000 votes would have been invalidated had a proper audit and recount of the votes been conducted and the election result would have been changed.
Chaman Shah Etimadi, IECC secretary, said the announcement of final result from the September presidential election had not been coordinated with their commission.
He asked election oversight institutes to share their conclusions about legitimacy or illegitimacy of the September 28 presidential election with the people.
Zahra Bayan Shinwari, IECC chief, thanked election oversight institutes for their cooperation and said the commission carried out its responsibilities according to electoral law and procedures.
Representatives of civil society institutes expressed concerns over the ongoing situation in the country and said Afghanistan was threatened by a critical crisis and a solution should be sought for ending the electoral deadlock.
They said the duty of election oversight institutes was not to reject or approve the election result but to share their findings about the election process with the election commissions.
The civil society representatives then shared an oversight report about the presidential election with leading members of the IECC.
Yousuf Rashid, executive director of Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan (FFEFA), told Pajhwok that such statements in current political situation of the country could not heal problems of election and action had to be taken when needed.
He called IECC as the last source of ensuring justice and said, “(The commission) has to stand firm on its decisions and their implementation, when they say that around 65,000 to 80,000 votes would have been invalidated, their claim is based on calculations and evaluations.”
On the other hand, IEC acting spokesman Zabihullah Sadat said their commission carried out its responsibilities according to the law and procedures.
He said the commission implemented all IECC decisions and announced the final results according to them.
This comes as a credible government source on Sunday said the oath-taking ceremony for Ashraf Ghani would take place within days -- probably on Thursday.
The Stability and Partnership team led by Dr. Abdullah Abdullah also announced preparation for his own oath-taking ceremony to announce him president of Afghanistan.
Tensions between Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah heightened after the announcement of final election result by the IEC.
Abdullah after the result announcement told a press conference that he was the winner and would form an inclusive government.
The commission declared President Ashraf Ghani as the winner, saying he was re-elected with 50.64% of the vote.
But Abdullah, who came second with 39.52%, contested the result, declared victory, and vowed to form his own parallel government.
mds/ma

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