Washington, September 11: A senior US official hints a rerun of the election was not a viable option in Afghanistan as western nations had also experienced many imperfect votes over the past years.
“Not all of the people in Afghanistan were able to vote, and as I’ve said many times before this election, there are imperfect elections throughout the west as well, and holding elections under these conditions is a very brave thing to do so let’s see what happens before jumping to conclusions,” The US envoy to Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke Holbrooke said in an interview with the BBC.
The remarks come as the vote has been marred by low turnout and widespread allegations of vote-rigging and Taliban intimidation.
A number of candidates have raised concerns over reports of ballot-stuffing and fraud in several provinces.
The controversial vote in Afghanistan has inspired many media outlets to compare the August election with the US polls in 2000 when vote procedure was widely rigged in favor of George W. Bush.
Figures released after the latest vote count by Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission (IEC) on Tuesday showed incumbent Hamid Karzai getting 54.1 percent of the vote.
This is while his main challenger and former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah trails far behind, having won over 28.3 percent of the ballots.
Abdullah has accused the Karzai camp of a massive vote rigging and warned that he would reject the result if the ballots are tainted by fraud.
The August election in Afghanistan marks the second direct presidential vote held since US-led troops invaded the country in 2001.
The developments come at a time when the chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC) says investigators are studying evidence of alleged crimes against humanity in Afghanistan.
Media reports said the North Atlantic Treaty Organization — which includes US and other western troops — could potentially become the target of an ICC prosecution.
Political uncertainty and civilian causalities have increased pressure on the US and its western allies to pull out troops from the violence-wracked country.
—–Agencies