Abdullah claims victory in Afghan vote

KABUL: Afghanistan chief executive Abdullah Abdullah claimed victory on Monday over incumbent Ashraf Ghani in the weekend’s presidential election, far ahead of the release of any official results.

The move is likely to stir political tensions across Afghanistan and brings to mind the election Abdullah and his top rival Ghani bitterly contested in 2014 that sparked a constitutional crisis and prompted US intervention.

“We have the most votes in this election,” Abdullah said at a news conference, without providing evidence.

“The results will be announced by the IEC (Independent Election Commission), but we have the most votes. The election is not going to go to a second round.” Abdullah’s announcement came after one of Ghani’s running mates, Amrullah Saleh, on Sunday claimed to have garnered the lion’s share of votes.

“According to our information, 60 to 70 per cent of the people have voted for our team,” Saleh told Voice of America’s Dari- and Pashto-language services.

The claims come even before the IEC has finished tallying turnout from Saturday’s election, with hundreds of polling centres still unreported.

Preliminary results are not due until October 19, and if the leading candidate doesn’t secure more than 50 per cent of the vote the top two will run off in a second round.

Almost immediately, senior IEC official Habib Rahman Nang slammed Abdullah’s announcement as premature.

— AFP