Votes of 10 ballot boxes partially invalidated

BAMYAN CITY (Pajhwok): Votes cast for presidential candidates at 10 ballot boxes were partially invalidated after a recount in central Bamyan province, an official said on Wednesday.

Votes of 11 suspicious ballot boxes were recounted in the presence of election observers and Independent Electoral Complaints Commission (IECC) officials at polling sites in Bamyan City and Kahmard, Yakawlang, Panjab, Waris and Shibar districts, regional IECC chief Niamatullah Tanin told Pajhwok Afghan News.

He said votes of 10 boxes having no stamps, problems in the locks and in large numbers to a single candidate, were partially declared void.

The official said preliminary results had already been dispatched to the IEC headquarters, but officials there ordered a recount due to some mistakes in the process of counting votes.

Complaints about instances of ballot stuffing in Kahmard district, 140 km from Bamiyan city, and blank votes also prompted the IEC to order a recount, he said.

Tanin said they had registered 28 complaints including objections about ballot stuffing in Darband and Ashepshta areas of Kahmard district, where the security situation was not stable.

Provincial IEC chief Aziz Ahmad Rassouli also confirmed the irregularities in Kahmard, saying voting had been ongoing beyond the official closing time and had begun ahead of the official starting time in the town.

He said they had evidence of electoral fraud in those areas and they had already shared it with the IEC’s main office.

mds/ma

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