KABUL - The Independent Election Commission (IEC) on Sunday announced more than 5,700 ballot boxes had been audited and the process would accelerate, with the number of audit teams increasing to 300 today (Monday).

Noor Muhammad Noor, the IEC spokesman, told journalists 25% of the total ballots, the votes cast Kabul, Paktika, Panjsher, Sar-e-Pul, Medan Wardak, Herat, Balkh, Kandahar, Logar, Faryab, Takhar, Baghlan, Ghazni, Nuristan and Badakhshan provinces, had been reviewed.

He added that two teams of hundred members each were auditing the votes in two shifts daily. This number will mount to 300 teams from tomorrow onwards, he continued.

“The audit has gained momentum but at the moment we cannot predict the exact date for completion,” Noor stated.  Around 23, 000 ballot boxes were transported to the capital from across the country this week.

Noor said that a total of 2704 permits for election observers had been issued, including 762 representatives of Abdullah, 566 representatives of Ashraf Ghani, 366 international observers and 1,010 Afghan monitors.

New software for the vote invalidation criteria was developed and put into place today, the commission revealed. (Pajhjwok)