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Top Afghan Election Official Resigns Amid Candidate’s Claims of Vote Fraud Top Afghan Election Official Resigns Amid Candidate’s Claims of Vote Fraud
(about 4 hours later)
KABUL, Afghanistan — A top Afghan election official resigned on Monday, a day after the presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah leaked tapes said to portray the official discussing different ways to rig the presidential election. KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghanistan’s election crisis has twisted through each of the past 10 days, as the presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah has wielded boycott and brinkmanship in his quest to expose what he calls industrial-scale fraud against him.
The official, Ziaulhaq Amarkhil, the secretary general of the country’s election commission, announced his resignation at a news conference after facing more than a week of intense pressure from Mr. Abdullah, who accused him of mass fraud. Mr. Amarkhil, who has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, claimed that the leaked tapes were fake, but that he would resign “for the sake of the country and for national unity.” On Monday, he won his first major concession, when one of the country’s top election officials resigned after repeated accusations by Mr. Abdullah that he was at the heart of a conspiracy to rig the presidential runoff.
The tapes, whose authenticity could not be verified, record a man that the Abdullah campaign alleges is Mr. Amarkhil telling subordinates to “stuff the sheep,” which the campaign claims is code for ballot boxes. The official, Ziaulhaq Amarkhil, said in an emotional news conference here that he was stepping down “for the sake of the country and for national unity.” But he maintained that he was innocent. And he criticized Mr. Abdullah’s release of audio recordings that the candidate has offered as evidence that Mr. Amarkhil was directing widespread ballot-box stuffing, saying the tapes had been faked.
The move was the latest bit of electoral theater to grip the nation since the June 14 runoff election, held to determine the successor to President Hamid Karzai. Since then, Mr. Abdullah has accused his opponent, Ashraf Ghani, the election commission and Mr. Karzai himself of colluding to steal a victory that his campaign felt was assured. The tapes, whose authenticity could not be verified, are a compendium of conversations between a man said to be Mr. Amarkhil and an array of subordinates, as well as people said to be campaign staff members for the other presidential candidate, Ashraf Ghani. The recordings, which the Abdullah campaign made available to reporters, include the voices of men chuckling about “stuffing the sheep,” which the Abdullah campaign says is code for stuffing ballot boxes.
Mr. Ghani’s campaign has said in recent days that it did not support the ouster of Mr. Amarkhil because it would damage the democratic process. But on Monday, a spokesman for Mr. Ghani hailed Mr. Amarkhil’s decision, and called for Mr. Karzai to replace him on the commission with a figure both campaigns see as neutral. Mr. Abdullah, who essentially walked away from the entire electoral process last week in protest, applauded the move. He said it offered an opportunity to re-engage with the Independent Election Commission.
“We respect the decision of Mr. Amarkhil to resign for the sake of the election and for the sake of the unity of the Afghan people,” said the spokesman, Abbas Noyan.
Mr. Abdullah said he would probably be speaking with electoral commission soon to outline his demands, but it was still unclear what could break the current deadlock over his claims of fraud.
“The door is now open to talk to the commission,” Mr. Abdullah said at a news conference. “Our attitude will be responsible in the coming days and weeks. But it will be in support of the people’s rights.”“The door is now open to talk to the commission,” Mr. Abdullah said at a news conference. “Our attitude will be responsible in the coming days and weeks. But it will be in support of the people’s rights.”
Among his chief concerns is the estimated turnout of 7.5 million voters, which trumps what was considered high turnout from the first round. Mr. Ghani’s campaign said it would accept Mr. Amarkhil’s resignation, though the candidate’s aides had aired concerns that such a move would be bad for Afghan democracy.
Mr. Abdullah claims the turnout is far too high to be genuine, and that ballot stuffing in largely pro-Ghani areas was partly to blame. As it stands, both campaigns figure that in the current tabulation Mr. Ghani is winning, a reversal of the first round when Mr. Abdullah was ahead by 13 percentage points. “We respect the decision of Mr. Amarkhil to resign for the sake of the election and for the sake of the unity of the Afghan people,” said Abbas Noyan, a spokesman for Mr. Ghani.
Mr. Abdullah has complained in particular about voting in southeastern Afghanistan, where some provinces saw voter turnout double or triple from the first round. Though there is evidence to suggest that ethnic Pashtuns, who share Mr. Ghani’s ethnicity, turned out in greater numbers for the runoff vote, Mr. Abdullah’s camp has cried foul. The resignation was the latest display of electoral theater to grip the nation since the June 14 runoff election, held to determine the successor to President Hamid Karzai. Since then, Mr. Abdullah has accused Mr. Ghani, the election commission and Mr. Karzai himself of colluding to steal a victory his campaign felt was assured.
Mr. Amarkhil’s resignation was but one of Mr. Abdullah’s demands after the runoff, and the candidate said he would probably outline his other requirements for the election commission soon. But it was still unclear what could break the current deadlock.
Among Mr. Abdullah’s chief concerns is the estimated turnout of about 7.5 million voters, which trumps what was considered high turnout from the first round.
Mr. Abdullah said the runoff figure was far too high to be genuine, and that ballot stuffing in largely pro-Ghani areas was partly to blame. As it stands, both campaigns figure that in the current tabulation Mr. Ghani is winning, a reversal of the first round when Mr. Abdullah was ahead by a 13-point margin.
Mr. Abdullah has in particular complained about voting in southeastern Afghanistan, where some provinces saw voter turnout double or triple from the first round. While there is evidence to suggest that ethnic Pashtuns, who share Mr. Ghani’s ethnicity, turned out in greater numbers for the runoff vote, Mr. Abdullah’s camp has cried foul.
On Monday, the election commission said it would conduct a partial recount of five provinces, accounting for roughly 10 percent of the overall vote, where Mr. Abdullah has the most concerns.On Monday, the election commission said it would conduct a partial recount of five provinces, accounting for roughly 10 percent of the overall vote, where Mr. Abdullah has the most concerns.
“The inspection will take place in front of the national and international observers and Independent Election Commission,” said Ahmad Yousuf Nuristani, the head of the commission.“The inspection will take place in front of the national and international observers and Independent Election Commission,” said Ahmad Yousuf Nuristani, the head of the commission.
The United Nations, at the behest of Mr. Karzai and Mr. Abdullah, has agreed to involve itself in the process. On Monday, the body reiterated its call for Mr. Abdullah to rejoin the political process and allow the vote count to proceed as scheduled. “Following the resignation, the mission calls on the presidential candidates to fully re-enter the electoral process, cooperate with the electoral institutions and respect their decisions,” the United Nations statement said. The United Nations, at the behest of Mr. Karzai and Mr. Abdullah, has agreed to involve itself in the process. On Monday, the body reiterated its call for Mr. Abdullah to rejoin the political process and allow it to proceed as scheduled.
With each passing day, the Abdullah campaign has raised the stakes for the government to respond. At first there were accusations, veiled in off-the-record sessions. Then there was a public demand to halt the vote count so that a proper investigation of alleged inflated ballots could be conducted. Finally, his demands having been largely ignored, Mr. Abdullah turned his back on the entire process. “Following the resignation, the mission calls on the presidential candidates to fully re-enter the electoral process, cooperate with the electoral institutions and respect their decisions,” the United Nations statement said.
All along, the campaign has kept its focus on Mr. Amarkhil, whose job was to oversee the operations of the election across the country. Mr. Amarkhil had been swept up in allegations of fraud from the beginning, after the Kabul police chief alleged he had been caught sending blank ballots to be illegally stuffed. Finally, when the audiotapes were revealed on Sunday, the pressure seemed to spike.
Mr. Amarkhil said he had acted responsibly and that the leaking of the tapes was a propaganda ploy that only added to pressure he had been feeling all along.
“The issue which came up on the media yesterday was the continuation of the plots I was faced with,” he said.