Kabul - The UN-backed Election Complaints Commission said Monday it has reached a verdict on contested ballots from the August 20 Afghan presidential election, but it was not immediately known if the rulings would push the country to a runoff vote. Although Monday's announcement did not put an end to nearly two months of political uncertainty in the country, it would facilitate the work of Independent Election Commission (IEC), the body that conducted the elections, to certify the final outcome.
"The ECC has finalized all of its decisions with respect to polling and counting for the presidential elections and has officially communicated them to the IEC," a statement said.
In the statement the ECC ordered the IEC to adjust all presidential candidates' vote totals in accordance with the ECC's decisions before announcing the certified results.
The ECC's decisions included invalidating the results from 210 polling stations around the country, where the body already found "clear and convincing evidence of fraud," while another 18 polling stations, which were set aside by IEC, and where no evidence of fraud was found "may be included in the results," the statement said.
In its third decision ensuing from the audit and recount process of sample ballots, the ECC ordered the IEC to "invalidate a certain percentage of each candidate's votes in six separate categories."
The ECC conducted the audit of more than ten per cent of over 3,000 polling stations and had already ordered the IEC to recount ballots from polling sites, where a candidate received 600 votes or more than 95 per cent of the total valid vote cast in that stations. The elections were held in more than 26,000 polling stations throughout the country.
While the certified results would be announced within two days, according to IEC officials, the BBC said that it learned from election officials that the verdict pushed President Hamid Karzai's share of vote to below 50 per cent, forcing him into a run-off with his top challenger and former foreign minister, Abdullah Abdullah.
Karzai won re-election by garnering 54 per cent of votes, according to preliminary results. The incumbent is thought likely to reject the verdict, because he claims he won the vote outright.
Reacting to Monday's announcement Waheed Omar, Karzai's spokesman, said that the ECC's rulings were rather "technical" and its impact on final vote could not be concluded.
"We will wait for the certified results," he said, adding: "We will accept the final certified outcome of the election to be announced by IEC."
Karzai is under mounting pressure from his government's Western allies to accept the outcome. The president received several calls from Western leaders over the past few days, while other high Western dignitaries, including French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, and US Democratic Senator John Kerry flew to Kabul at the weekend to discuss the elections.
Sweden's foreign minister Carl Bildt, current holder of the European Union's rotating presidency, said Monday in Brussels that the Afghan candidates must hold a second-round poll in if verified results call for it.
"Everyone who was part of the electoral process (should) fully respect all parts of the agreed procedures, including the work of the Election Complaints Commission (ECC) ... If these results point towards the need for a second round, a second round must be held," he said.
At a separate briefing in Brussels, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that the credibility of the Afghan election process would be critical to the West's engagement there.
"There is a strong need for the international community to have a credible and accountable government in Kabul (...) with which we can engage and make sure the government is considered credible by the Afghan people," he said.
More than 100,000 international soldiers, almost all under the banner of NATO-led military coalition, are stationed in Afghanistan. NATO troops provided security for the elections in August.
While pressure on Karzai is intensifying from his government's foreign supporters to accept the outcome, Western officials in Kabul also acknowledge that owing to the onset of winter and Taliban threats of attacks, the runoff vote would be almost impossible.
The Western officials believe that creation of a coalition government could be a solution for country's vote crisis. They confirmed that members of the Karzai and Abdullah camps were discussing ways to share power and avert a second round.
Both Karzai and Abdullah have said in the past that forming a coalition government was not an option for them, but officials believe that under increased international pressure they would finally agree to a political deal later this week.
There was no date for the IEC's final, certified results to put an end to nearly two months of political uncertainty. An IEC spokesman said the body needed up to two more days to review its findings before announcing the final results.
The IEC members have been appointed by President Karzai and they are widely accused of being biased in favour of the incumbent. Analysts fear that IEC could stall the announcement of final results if Karzai needs more time to turn the situation in his favour.
