UN says 'not possible' to finish Afghan vote audit by Sept 2

UN says 'not possible' to finish Afghan vote audit by Sept 2 - PakTribune

The United Nations is supervising the audit of votes from a run-off ballot between the two candidates, Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani. Both men have claimed victory in an election meant to mark the country's first democratic transfer of power.
In a meeting with Karzai, UN envoy Ján Kubiš told the outgoing president a "rigorous and credible audit required time, but could be completed around 10 September," said a UN statement. In a previous statement, Karzai had said the inauguration of Afghanistan's new president must take place a month after the original inauguration date of Aug. 2.
"President Karzai is truly in a hurry for a quick conclusion of the election process," Karzai spokesman Aimal Faizi told Reuters. "He has already done his packing. He is exhausted, like many other Afghans."
The audit of votes hit a snag on Wednesday when Abdullah's team pulled its observers from the process, citing dissatisfaction with the way that allegedly fraudulent votes were being handled.


Ghani's team subsequently also withdrew its observers at the UN's request.