KABUL: Afghanistan’s Electoral Complaints Commission ruled on Thursday that votes cast in the capital Kabul during last October’s parliamentary election were invalid, citing fraud and mismanagement.
The ruling must be upheld by the Independent Election Commission, the body with overall authority over the ballot, which was marred by allegations of voter fraud, technical problems with biometric voter verification equipment and inaccurate voter lists.
“There were serious outstanding problems in Kabul that could hurt the fairness, transparency and inclusiveness of the election,” said Ali Reza Rohani, spokesman for the Electoral Complaints Commission.
More than a million votes were recorded in Kabul, accounting for about a quarter of the roughly 4 million votes cast nationwide. If confirmed by the IEC, the decision would call into question the validity of an election heavily pushed by Afghanistan’s international partners.
The recommendation to cancel the vote in Kabul also adds to uncertainty over the April 20 presidential election. Election authorities have said they are considering postponing the vote until July due to organizational difficulties.
Any delay to the presidential election could affect hoped-for peace talks with the Taliban, which have opened contacts with the United States but so far refused to talk to the government of President Ashraf Ghani.
Authorities have still not released complete results from the Oct. 20 parliamentary ballot, which saw chaotic delays that forced voting to continue into the following day.
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Afghan election complaint body says vote in capital Kabul invalid
Afghan election complaint body says vote in capital Kabul invalid
- “There were serious outstanding problems in Kabul that could hurt the fairness, transparency and inclusiveness of the election”
- More than a million votes were recorded in Kabul, accounting for about a quarter of the roughly 4 million votes cast nationwide
Cambodia demands Thailand withdraw troops, week into border truce
PHNOM PENH: Cambodia called on neighboring Thailand on Saturday to pull out its forces from areas Phnom Penh claims as its own, one week since a truce halted deadly clashes along their disputed border.
The decades-old dispute between the Southeast Asian neighbors erupted into military clashes several times last year, with fighting in December killing dozens of people and displacing around one million on both sides.
The two countries agreed a truce on December 27, ending three weeks of clashes.
Cambodia says that during that period, Thailand seized several areas across four border provinces.
In a statement on Saturday, Phnom Penh’s foreign ministry demanded the withdrawal of “all Thai military personnel and equipment from the territory of the Kingdom of Cambodia to positions fully consistent with the legally established boundary.”
The Thai army has rejected claims it had used force to seize Cambodia territory, insisting its forces were present in areas that had always belonged to Thailand.
The Cambodian foreign ministry also called on Thailand to immediately end “all hostile military activities” along the frontier and “within Cambodian territory.”
The two nations’ border conflict stems from a dispute over the colonial-era demarcation of their 800-kilometer (500-mile) border, where both sides claim territory and centuries-old temple ruins.
On Friday, Cambodia’s Information Minister Neth Pheaktra accused Thailand of launching the “illegal annexation” of the border village of Chouk Chey.
The Thai army disputed Phnom Penh’s narrative, and Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said his country “has never breached another country’s sovereignty and has acted in line with international regulations.”
Anutin was speaking on Friday while visiting troops deployed to the border province of Surin.
The decades-old dispute between the Southeast Asian neighbors erupted into military clashes several times last year, with fighting in December killing dozens of people and displacing around one million on both sides.
The two countries agreed a truce on December 27, ending three weeks of clashes.
Cambodia says that during that period, Thailand seized several areas across four border provinces.
In a statement on Saturday, Phnom Penh’s foreign ministry demanded the withdrawal of “all Thai military personnel and equipment from the territory of the Kingdom of Cambodia to positions fully consistent with the legally established boundary.”
The Thai army has rejected claims it had used force to seize Cambodia territory, insisting its forces were present in areas that had always belonged to Thailand.
The Cambodian foreign ministry also called on Thailand to immediately end “all hostile military activities” along the frontier and “within Cambodian territory.”
The two nations’ border conflict stems from a dispute over the colonial-era demarcation of their 800-kilometer (500-mile) border, where both sides claim territory and centuries-old temple ruins.
On Friday, Cambodia’s Information Minister Neth Pheaktra accused Thailand of launching the “illegal annexation” of the border village of Chouk Chey.
The Thai army disputed Phnom Penh’s narrative, and Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said his country “has never breached another country’s sovereignty and has acted in line with international regulations.”
Anutin was speaking on Friday while visiting troops deployed to the border province of Surin.
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