By DPA,
Kabul : Abdullah Abdullah, the main challenger to President Hamid Karzai in the Afghan presidential election, Thursday accused the country’s election commission of corruption and bias towards the incumbent.
In an interview with the BBC, the former foreign minister accused Karzai of fraud, saying the election was stolen from the Afghan people.
The Independent Election Commission was “not independent at all”, Abdullah said. “It’s on President Karzai’s side.”
“It has been corrupt, and their malpractice is now widespread. I think it’s not for the good of the country that somebody who commits massive fraud rules the country for (almost) five years,” Abdullah said.
According to the latest partial results of 92 percent of the polling stations released by the commission, Karzai received 54.1 percent of the vote, surpassing the 50 percent necessary to avoid a run-off, while Abdullah received 28.3 percent.
Earlier this week, a UN-backed complaints commission said there was proof of vote rigging.
Karzai’s main challenger said the way the election had been conducted was likely to hinder progress in the war-torn country.
“I’m not talking about just my own supporters, but those who cast their vote for Mr Karzai,” he said.
“Their vote is now part of the fraud. And on top of that, a fraudulent outcome: illegitimate rule for another five years. I think this in itself is a recipe for instability in this country.”