| Ballot count halted in Takhar as polling agents stage protest Pajhwok Afghan News
09/23/2005
By Abdul Mateen Sarfraz
[Printer Friendly Version]
TALOQAN - Following overwhelming complaints and demonstration from polling agents of several candidates, vote counting has been halted in Takhar and Badghis provinces. The complainants in Takhar alleged the election officials were violating the electoral law by noting wrong figures on the counting list. Pir Mohammad Khaksar, a candidate for the Afghan Wolesi Jirga, told Pajhwok Afghan News: "The officials are writing 19 in place of 9 by adding a single digit to the tally." By doing so, he grumbled, they wanted to get results of their own choice. Another hopeful for the provincial council Mamoor Afghan feared large-scale rigging might put them aside and bring people who did not represent the masses. He based his apprehensions on the ground that the ballot boxes were opened when they or their representatives were not present. But JEMB officials in the province rejected the allegations as baseless, saying they were ready to negotiate the issue with the aggrieved individuals to restart the counting process. The counting was halted after agents of the candidates staged protest demonstrations and urged the high-ups to take notice of the alleged rigging. An official of the regional office of the Joint Electoral Management Body (JEMB) Said Yasin Dahzad denied the charges, saying about 80 polling agents were there to observe the ballot count. He said in order to avoid rush at the centre, they had decided to allow only 30 observers at a time to oversee the counting for two hours. But their complaints regarding rigging were baseless, he added. In the northern Badghis province, count was suspended after the officials and candidates continued wrangling over the presence of more than one observer on the scene. Officials argued presence of one observer at a time would avoid rush and ensure smooth process. But the aspirants insisted all the observers must be present to oversee the count. Parliamentary candidate Habibzai, in Badghis province said: "The election office had told us that one observer of each candidate will be allowed to oversee the process but the denial by JEMB is violation of the law." She lamented the counting was going on without any observer after the officials expelled their agents from the polling centres. Abdul Karim, a polling agent of one on the contenders, told Pajhwok Afghan News they would not accept the counting results as it was held in their absence.
Other Stories:
|