Fake results will take Afghanistan toward turmoil," Mohaqiq

KABUL - Negotiations with presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah continued on Tuesday despite the passing of the deadline Abdullah had set for his demands regarding the vote audit and national unity government deal to be met.

On Monday, the Abdullah camp had warned that they would withdraw once again from the process and end all political negotiations if their demands were not honored by the end of Tuesday. But negotiations are still reportedly ongoing between Abdullah's team, a newly arrived advisor to U.S. President Barack Obama and the United Nations.

Sources from within both campaigns have said the major point of disagreement between the candidates remains over the powers and authorities that will be designated to the Chief Executive position in their new power-sharing arrangement. The national unity government deal was first made in large part thanks to the mediation of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, as well as the United Nations, which has overseen the auditing process.

Abdullah's Second Vice President, Mohammad Mohaqiq, has said that the dissatisfaction on his side stems from the fact that the political discussions between the candidates have not reached a positive outcome.

Mohaqiq also warned that if the UN allowed fraudulent results to be announced once the audit is over there would be trouble. "We have made it clear to the UN that if the fake results of the election are announced, Afghanistan will move toward turmoil," Mohaqiq said.

Abdullah's rivals, led by presidential candidate Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, have said that it would be a hasty decisions to withdraw from the political negotiations and now endorse the auditing results. A central part of the agreement brokered by Secretary of Kerry at the beginning of August was that the candidates would accept the audit results.

"If the Reform and Partnership Team decides to withdraw from the audit and political negotiations it would be a hasty decision," Ghani camp spokesman Faizullah Zaki said on Tuesday. He called on the Abdullah team to share all their concerns before making any major move.

So far, at least, the UN and other foreign diplomats have persuaded the candidates to remain engaged in political talks and honor all the commitments they have made. "The UN urges both candidates to keep on with political negotiations and honor all commitments they made," United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) spokesman Nazifullah Salarzai said.

But with each passing each day, as the now 5-month-long election process drags on, the Afghan economy and national security situation suffers as a result of the election stalemate.

Many have also expressed concerns about the credibility of the election in the eyes of Afghans now that is has been called so much into question. (Tolonews)