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| Abdullah Abdullah Says He Can’t Trust Officials’ Tally of Afghan Vote | Abdullah Abdullah Says He Can’t Trust Officials’ Tally of Afghan Vote |
| (2 months later) | |
| KABUL, Afghanistan — The Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah intensified his political brinkmanship on Thursday, insisting that he would not accept any result put forth by the country’s election commission as his supporters appeared to be gearing up for street protests. | |
| Essentially turning his back on the entire election process, Mr. Abdullah, who was the leading vote-winner in the first round of voting, said he could no longer trust the system to address his accusations of widespread fraud and collusion against him in the recent presidential runoff vote. A day after his call to halt vote-counting and start an investigation into ballot-box stuffing went unheeded by the Independent Election Commission, he told his supporters on Thursday that he would leave the next steps to them. | Essentially turning his back on the entire election process, Mr. Abdullah, who was the leading vote-winner in the first round of voting, said he could no longer trust the system to address his accusations of widespread fraud and collusion against him in the recent presidential runoff vote. A day after his call to halt vote-counting and start an investigation into ballot-box stuffing went unheeded by the Independent Election Commission, he told his supporters on Thursday that he would leave the next steps to them. |
| “The people of Afghanistan will make their own decisions,” he said. “I will stand beside them, and we will make our decision along with them.” | “The people of Afghanistan will make their own decisions,” he said. “I will stand beside them, and we will make our decision along with them.” |
| Many observers interpreted Mr. Abdullah’s words as paving the way for protests in Kabul and other cities, posing a new security concern for Afghan and Western officials alike. Those signs were already emerging on Thursday, with a small gathering of a few hundred protesters in Kabul. | Many observers interpreted Mr. Abdullah’s words as paving the way for protests in Kabul and other cities, posing a new security concern for Afghan and Western officials alike. Those signs were already emerging on Thursday, with a small gathering of a few hundred protesters in Kabul. |
| “This procedure is totally illegitimate, and whatever the result is going to be, it is not acceptable for us,” Mr. Abdullah said during his news conference on Thursday, repeating his accusations of a three-part conspiracy by his opponent, Ashraf Ghani, the election commission and President Hamid Karzai. “Regrettably, this issue has formed a political deadlock, and as the election commission, the complaints commission and the president of Afghanistan have not reacted to the people of Afghanistan, they will be responsible for this political deadlock and its consequences.” | “This procedure is totally illegitimate, and whatever the result is going to be, it is not acceptable for us,” Mr. Abdullah said during his news conference on Thursday, repeating his accusations of a three-part conspiracy by his opponent, Ashraf Ghani, the election commission and President Hamid Karzai. “Regrettably, this issue has formed a political deadlock, and as the election commission, the complaints commission and the president of Afghanistan have not reacted to the people of Afghanistan, they will be responsible for this political deadlock and its consequences.” |
| It was the latest escalation of a crisis that is turning into a nightmarish turn of events for Western officials, who had hoped a smooth election would stand as a landmark success for their involvement in Afghanistan. Instead, after a first round of voting that was generally seen as a success, they now face the possibility of a discredited election and, some fear, the reigniting of factional hostilities that had seemed to ease over the years of Mr. Karzai’s administration. | It was the latest escalation of a crisis that is turning into a nightmarish turn of events for Western officials, who had hoped a smooth election would stand as a landmark success for their involvement in Afghanistan. Instead, after a first round of voting that was generally seen as a success, they now face the possibility of a discredited election and, some fear, the reigniting of factional hostilities that had seemed to ease over the years of Mr. Karzai’s administration. |
| The United States responded to the growing uproar on Thursday, urging both candidates to remain engaged with the electoral process as called for by Afghan law. | The United States responded to the growing uproar on Thursday, urging both candidates to remain engaged with the electoral process as called for by Afghan law. |
| “The United States wishes to reiterate the need for both campaigns to continue to work with the Afghan electoral bodies, which have the responsibility of administering and adjudicating this electoral process,” Jen Psaki, the State Department spokeswoman, said in a statement. “We also call upon these institutions to provide assurances that concerns will be given careful and impartial attention.” | “The United States wishes to reiterate the need for both campaigns to continue to work with the Afghan electoral bodies, which have the responsibility of administering and adjudicating this electoral process,” Jen Psaki, the State Department spokeswoman, said in a statement. “We also call upon these institutions to provide assurances that concerns will be given careful and impartial attention.” |
| The endgame for Mr. Abdullah politically and personally is unclear, with the Afghan government, the United Nations and now the State Department all calling for the electoral process to continue as planned despite his boycott. He has, in effect, rejected the only process that could legally make him president. | The endgame for Mr. Abdullah politically and personally is unclear, with the Afghan government, the United Nations and now the State Department all calling for the electoral process to continue as planned despite his boycott. He has, in effect, rejected the only process that could legally make him president. |
| Mr. Abdullah raised the possibility on Wednesday that a joint commission of the candidates under the supervision of the United Nations could investigate, but he backed away from that on Thursday. | Mr. Abdullah raised the possibility on Wednesday that a joint commission of the candidates under the supervision of the United Nations could investigate, but he backed away from that on Thursday. |
| “We do not want anything from the international community,” he said, “except upholding their impartiality during this process.” | “We do not want anything from the international community,” he said, “except upholding their impartiality during this process.” |
| The candidate’s decision comes after days of accusations that Mr. Ghani and Mr. Karzai had engineered a fraud that inflated initial tallies by up to two million ballots, or nearly a third of all the estimated votes cast in the runoff election. Mr. Abdullah’s campaign has pointed to several strongholds of Mr. Ghani, where vote tallies are believed to have doubled and even tripled in the second round. | The candidate’s decision comes after days of accusations that Mr. Ghani and Mr. Karzai had engineered a fraud that inflated initial tallies by up to two million ballots, or nearly a third of all the estimated votes cast in the runoff election. Mr. Abdullah’s campaign has pointed to several strongholds of Mr. Ghani, where vote tallies are believed to have doubled and even tripled in the second round. |
| On Wednesday, Mr. Abdullah called for a halt to all vote-counting so that an investigation could be conducted, and for the removal of a top figure in the election commission embroiled in allegations of illegal activity. | On Wednesday, Mr. Abdullah called for a halt to all vote-counting so that an investigation could be conducted, and for the removal of a top figure in the election commission embroiled in allegations of illegal activity. |
| None of those demands were acted on, however, and on Thursday, Mr. Abdullah said he was left with no choice but to reject any future findings of the commission. | None of those demands were acted on, however, and on Thursday, Mr. Abdullah said he was left with no choice but to reject any future findings of the commission. |
| “I want to assure the Afghan people that the decision that we have made is just to protect their rights and that there is no personal interest involved,” he said. “I want to request all of our supporters to consider the people’s safety and to observe Afghan law under all circumstances.” | “I want to assure the Afghan people that the decision that we have made is just to protect their rights and that there is no personal interest involved,” he said. “I want to request all of our supporters to consider the people’s safety and to observe Afghan law under all circumstances.” |
| In a country troubled by civil strife, including along ethnic lines, the words offered little comfort. Though Mr. Abdullah has made no overt appeals to ethnic factionalism, and has spent years brokering relationships with the country’s Pashtun majority, his support base remains strongest among the country’s ethnic Tajik minority. Some Western officials have privately aired fears in recent days that even peaceful protests on a large scale could quickly descend into violence in a country that has been at war for more than a generation. | In a country troubled by civil strife, including along ethnic lines, the words offered little comfort. Though Mr. Abdullah has made no overt appeals to ethnic factionalism, and has spent years brokering relationships with the country’s Pashtun majority, his support base remains strongest among the country’s ethnic Tajik minority. Some Western officials have privately aired fears in recent days that even peaceful protests on a large scale could quickly descend into violence in a country that has been at war for more than a generation. |
| The protest in Kabul on Thursday, while peaceful, was charged with the sort of speech that has prompted some companies that employ expats in the capital to consider evacuating the country. | The protest in Kabul on Thursday, while peaceful, was charged with the sort of speech that has prompted some companies that employ expats in the capital to consider evacuating the country. |
| “Death to fraud, death to fraudsters,” shouted a phalanx of roughly 300 university students in front of Zarnegar Park in downtown Kabul on Thursday afternoon. The young men promised to remain in place until their demands, which largely hewed to Mr. Abdullah’s, were met. | “Death to fraud, death to fraudsters,” shouted a phalanx of roughly 300 university students in front of Zarnegar Park in downtown Kabul on Thursday afternoon. The young men promised to remain in place until their demands, which largely hewed to Mr. Abdullah’s, were met. |
| “We don’t want instability in Afghanistan, but we want to see everyone gets what he deserves,” said Mohammad Hashim Radmard, 24, an organizer and university student. “The fraudsters must be punished, and the fraudulent votes must be separated from the clean votes.” | “We don’t want instability in Afghanistan, but we want to see everyone gets what he deserves,” said Mohammad Hashim Radmard, 24, an organizer and university student. “The fraudsters must be punished, and the fraudulent votes must be separated from the clean votes.” |
| Expectations of larger-scale protests did not come only from the students arrayed in Kabul’s downtown Thursday. | Expectations of larger-scale protests did not come only from the students arrayed in Kabul’s downtown Thursday. |
| “It is the beginning of the crisis unfortunately,” said Mohaydeen Mahdi, a member of the Afghan Parliament and a supporter of Mr. Abdullah. “There are expectations of major protests on Saturday, which could draw as many as 100,000 people.” | “It is the beginning of the crisis unfortunately,” said Mohaydeen Mahdi, a member of the Afghan Parliament and a supporter of Mr. Abdullah. “There are expectations of major protests on Saturday, which could draw as many as 100,000 people.” |