Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Friday, March 29th, 2024

Runoff Preliminary Results Delayed

Runoff Preliminary Results Delayed

KABUL - An official from the election management body has confirmed that the announcement of the preliminary results will be delayed until the end of this week because votes from 2,000 polling sites have yet to be investigated. According to the election timeline, the Independent Election Commission (IEC) was expected to announce the results on Wednesday, July 2.

"It is not possible to announce the preliminary results tomorrow because members of the commission have decided to investigate votes of 2,000 polling sites for a second time," IEC member Sharifa Zurmati Wardak said. "The sites are also under investigation. We cannot announce the preliminary results until all the sites are cleared."

Meanwhile, presidential candidate Ashraf Ghani-Ahmadzai's team has said that the delay is not in the interest of the country, stating that the people are tired of the prolongation of the election process.

"Businesses are declining and people are tired of waiting for the election results," a member of Ghani's team Azita Raffat said. "We demand that the election commission announce the results tomorrow and not prolong the process any longer."

On the contrary, presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah's campaign team has said that the announcement of the preliminary results without investigating the cases of fraud would be a big mistake. Abdullah's team reiterated that an early announcement will not have any credibility as his team had severed all relations with the election commission and has not monitored its undertakings.

"If the election commission announces the preliminary results tomorrow, it will commit a big mistake," Abdullah's team member Syed Fazel Sancharaki said. "As you know, efforts are already underway to find a political settlement to the challenges in this sphere."

Additionally, Spokesman for the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) has stated that a delay in the preliminary results will also impact the duties of the ECC.

"A delay in the announcement of the preliminary results will impact us," ECC Spokesman Nadir Mohseni said. "Our tasks might be prolonged for some days."

The runoff preliminary results are said to be announced by the end of this week when vote assessments are completed. However, rumors indicate that results might be further delayed if the electoral tensions are not settled.  (Tolonews)