Afghanistan releases final vote results

Afghanistan has released the final results of September’s parliamentary elections after a fraud probe revealed nearly a quarter of the votes invalid and many candidates disqualified.

Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission (IEC) on Wednesday released the final results following long delays to probe widespread fraud that saw nearly a quarter of the votes canceled.

“Holding elections is a difficult process,” the election commission chief, Fazil Ahmad Manawi, told reporters in the Afghan capital, Kabul.

“But fortunately with all the difficulties the Afghan nation managed to hold an election and today we witness what the people have voted for,” he added.

Afghans voted on September 18 in their second parliamentary polls since the US-led invasion of the country in 2001, but investigations into widespread fraud have delayed releasing the results.

As the war-torn country is releasing the results, election candidates have taken to the streets of Kabul on Wednesday to protest against the polling process which they say is corrupt.

The IEC has already disqualified 119 candidates for suspicion of involvement in vote-rigging. The losing candidates, however, claim that they were deprived of victory.

The election commission has also thrown out a quarter of the votes because of fraud.