KABUL, Afghanistan
The recount of eight million votes in the Afghan presidential election is to get underway on Thursday.
A deal brokered by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry last week saw presidential candidates Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani agree to the audit of every vote cast following allegations of electoral fraud.
Noor Muhammad Noor, a spokesman for the Afghan Independent Election Commission, said the recount would last at least three weeks. “Every day, we aim to investigate at least one thousand ballot boxes,” he said, adding that 20,000 boxes needed to be examined.
IEC staff will work in two shifts a day, with 100 teams per shift, under the watchful eyes of international observers and representatives of both candidates. Noor said each candidate would be allowed to nominate 20 observers.
The international troops assured security as the ballot boxes were transported from Afghanistan’s 34 provinces to the capital Kabul for the recount process.
Following advice from the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, IEC staff will check 16 points while verifying the votes.
Ghani and Abdullah have agreed to accept the outcome of the process and form a national unity government after the declaration of the final results.
www.aa.com.tr/en
