Abdullah`s spokesman says Afghan election may be falsified
The campaign chief of Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah said they would appeal the results of the poll if it is falsified.
Election officials said on Wednesday that Afghanistan`s incumbent president, Hamid Karzai, had a 10-point lead over closest rival Abdullah Abdullah with 17.2% of the vote counted after last week`s presidential polls.
"The fact that under the current circumstances Afghanistan held an election is without a doubt a positive moment and a considerable step forward. But first, turnout was unfortunately low rather than high due to a number of factors. Second, the election was marred by violations, pressures and fraud," Fazel Sangcharaki said in an interview with RIA Novosti.
He added that a number of documents proving election falsifications were presented on Tuesday during Abdallah`s news conference in Kabul and the campaign had already submitted complaints on this issue with the country`s Independent Election Complaints Commission.
Daud Najafi, the chief electoral officer, told journalists in Kabul on Wednesday that with 998,484 ballot papers counted, Karzai has 422,137 votes (44.8%) to former foreign minister Abdullah`s 35.1%.
A candidate needs 50% of the vote to claim victory without a runoff.
Election day was plagued by militant attacks, with some 400 registered across the country.
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