Afghanistan’s Abdullah makes fresh fraud allegations

Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah has made fresh allegations of fraud in the country’s recent presidential runoff vote.

The campaign team for Abdullah released audio tapes which allegedly reveal stuffing ballot boxes and fraud in the June 14 runoff poll.

The recordings are said to have captured conversations between Zia-ul-Haq Amarkhail, head of the secretariat of the Independent Election Commission (IEC), and the aides of rival presidential candidate Ashraf Ghani in several provinces.

The authenticity of the recordings has not been verified yet.

Abdullah has once again called on electoral officials in Afghanistan to sift out what he describes “the dirty votes.”

The new allegations came after Abdullah’s team on June 22 released audio recordings, accusing Amarkhail of misdeeds in the transfer of unused ballots during the runoff poll.

Amarkhail resigned on June 23, but denied all charges against him and defended the conduct of the June 14 balloting.

“The only reason for my resignation is the national interest of my country,” he said at a news conference, stressing that the audio recordings regarding fraud were “fake.”

Abdullah says evidence suggests that some ballot boxes were filled with votes a day before the runoff election.

The presidential candidate has even alleged that the voter turnout was higher than the number of eligible voters in several provinces.

The preliminary result of the election is due on July 2 and the final result, after adjudication of complaints, is scheduled for July 22. The winner will succeed outgoing President Hamid Karzai, who has been in power since the US-led invasion of the country in 2001.