IEC Calls On Candidates To Avoid Prejudgments

Fuente: 
Tolo News
Fecha de publicación: 
28 Abr 2014

 

The Afghan election body has called on the leading presidential candidates on Monday to respect the preliminary results and avoid making any premature speculations about the final results, which is scheduled to be announced little over two weeks.

The preliminary results of the April 5 presidential elections put Abdullah Abdullah in the lead with 44.9 percent and trailed by Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai with 31.5 percent.

Mr. Abdullah has said that the results would change once the fraud panel—Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC)—reviews the allegations of fraud and ballot stuffing. However, Mr. Ghani has said that “there is no first-round winner”.

“The candidates must avoid any premature judgments as it will confuse the public perception. They should let the ECC investigate the allegations and make a decision on the final results,” said Ahmad Sareer Barmak, an outspoken commissioner of the 9-member Independent Election Commission (IEC).

The ECC will review about 1,000 allegations of fraud, submitted after Election Day, in the next week. Sources within the ECC expect that the final results would not bring a significant change to the preliminary results.

In the case that final results confirm a runoff, it would take place between the two leading candidates on June 7, according to the IEC Chairman Ahmad Yousaf Nuristani.

The United Nations, a donor of the election process, has said that it would continue to fund the second round of the elections, if needed. A spokesman for the UN mission in Afghanistan echoed comments of Mr. Barmak, urging the candidates to wait for the final results.

“We ask the candidates and their supporters to let the electoral bodies accomplish their jobs by avoiding prejudgments,” said Nilab Mobariz, a spokesman for United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, UNAMA.

The runoff, constitutionally, should take place in two weeks after the final results announcement, which is scheduled on May 14.

The April 5 elections took place amid high security, which allowed as many as seven million voters to cast their votes, making about 60 percent of the eligible voters in the country.

NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) has reaffirmed commitments to continue assisting the Afghan forces to protect the runoff.

“We will help our Afghan partners in providing security for the elections if the final results from the first round dictates a runoff,” ISAF Spokesman, Gen. Heinz Feldmann, told TOLOnews.

TOLOnews reporter, Shakila Ibrahimkhel, spoke to several Kabul residents about their willingness to vote in a second round of elections. One response was from 71-year-old Abdul Razaq who said that a similar higher turnout in the second round would give “a stronger mandate” to Afghanistan’s next president.

The IEC has been given $126 million by the international community to hold the elections. According to IEC officials, the fund covers the runoff as well.

 

Source/Fuente: http://www.tolonews.com/elections2014/iec-calls-candidates-avoid-prejudg...