Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Thursday, March 28th, 2024

Afghanistan's Stability Depends on Election Results: EU

Afghanistan's Stability Depends on Election Results: EU

KABUL - Representatives of the European Union (EU) have met with President Hamid Karzai, election officials and the presidential candidates to find a solution to the election deadlock.

The EU observing team welcomed the Independent Election Commission's (IEC) decision regarding a delay in the announcement of the preliminary results.

"We very much welcome the decision by the IEC to postpone the publication of the preliminary results in order to be able to perform an audit," head of the EU's monitoring delegation, Thijs Berman, stated. "IEC obviously has sufficiently worrying data to warrant for such an audit."

Furthermore, the EU asked the IEC to continue auditing the fraudulent votes in agreement with both candidates so that the outcomes are acceptable to everyone.

"The results of these elections is not my concern, we know we are independent, we are impartial, we are neutral, we wish the best to both candidates but the Afghan voters have the right to see their votes respected" Berman said.

The U.S. Embassy and representatives from the EU countries have met with presidential candidates Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani-Ahmadzai to discuss the electoral tensions.

Both Abdullah and Ghani's campaign teams stated that the purpose of the meetings were to find solutions to the election crisis, refraining from giving further details.

The preliminary election results are due to be announced on Monday July 7. (Tolonews)