“After weeks of partisan bickering, Afghanistan is taking another important step towards democracy,” said Karim Lahidji, FIDH President. “Whatever the final outcome of the audit process, both candidates must accept the results and respect the democratic process in which millions of Afghan citizens participated on 14 June.”
The audit of almost eight million ballots cast in the runoff election was part of a deal brokered by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to resolve allegations of widespread fraud that had threatened to derail Afghanistan’s democratic transition. Ghani had been pronounced the winner of the election, but Abdullah charged that the results were marred by massive fraud. The process conducted by Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission (IEC) – in accordance with international standards, under close and extensive supervision led by the UN as requested by both candidates – started on 17 July but had been since interrupted several times.
“The presidential elections held on 14 June had marked an important step towards democracy in Afghanistan, but the disputes around this election and the audit have jeopardized the hope for Afghanistan’s first peaceful political transition,” said Guissou Jahangiri, Director of Armanshahr/OPEN ASIA.
Last week, Abdullah decided to pull out of audit process because the auditors refused to accept his demands to widen the criteria for identifying and discarding ballots. Nevertheless, the United Nations decided to continue with the audit, and asked Ghani’s observers to also withdraw from the process in order to maintain impartiality.
The UN announced yesterday the completion of the physical audit of all the ballots in question, but the IEC has not yet given the exact date for the announcement of the final result.
FIDH and Armanshahr/OPEN ASIA call on both candidates to fully accept the final results of the election as determined by the audit, and thus allow for a genuine democratic transition in Afghanistan. The winner of the election must aim to represent all Afghans regardless of religion or ethnicity, and to uphold the Afghan constitution, in particular the protection of human rights and women’s rights.