MAZAR-I-SHARIF (Pajhwok): Some ballot boxes have been found faulty after being interfered with by some warlords and their votes are likely to be declared invalid in northern Balkh province, an official said on Tuesday.
The Independent Election Commission and the Electoral Complaints Commission have been recounting votes of quarantined ballot boxes over the past few days in Balkh following complaints of fraud.
Izzat Arman, the IEC provincial office head, said the voting process in Balkh had partially been interfered with by some warlords and influential figures.
He said complaints submitted with his office showed instances of electoral fraud and violations had taken place in some polling centres.
“These reports indicate our employees were forced into stuffing ballot boxes at some polling stations,” he acknowledged. The move, he said, prompted him to request the main IEC office in Kabul to quarantine ballot boxes of 17 polling stations in Balkh.
In a latest development, the main IEC office on Tuesday ordered a recount of votes at 50 polling sites, Arman said, adding: “Votes of some ballot boxes or even some stations are likely to be declared as invalid.”
Dad Muhammad Anabi, the ECC head in Balkh, said they had received 126 complaints so far, forcing them to quarantine ballot boxes of some sites.
Source/Fuente: http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2014/04/15/warlords-stuffed-some-ballot-boxes-...
