Abdullah urges top ECC officials to quit

Sun Oct 25, 2009

Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah has called on top election officials to step down before an upcoming run-off vote in the war-torn country.

On Sunday, Abdullah said the officers should be removed, but warned: "This would not be enough, this would not suffice for free and fair elections," adding that extra measures should be taken to avoid vote rigging in the second round.

Abdullah's campaign has accused several officials of rigging the first round of voting in favor of incumbent President Hamid Karzai.

Afghanistan's first round of presidential elections, which was held on August 20, was marred after the UN-backed Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) reported massive fraud.

Up to 1.3 million votes were discarded as fraudulent, around one million of them for Karzai, whose share fell below the 50 percent needed for victory as a result.

Officials have warned that providing full security for the second round may not be possible, as Taliban has called for a boycott of the vote, threatening to act violently against those who participate.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://edition.presstv.ir/detail/109559.html.