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| Afghan Presidential Candidate Threatens to Withdraw From Election | Afghan Presidential Candidate Threatens to Withdraw From Election |
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| KABUL, Afghanistan — One of the two candidates for Afghan president will withdraw from a bitterly contested audit of the results unless election officials meet a series of technical demands made by his campaign, one of his top aides said Tuesday. | KABUL, Afghanistan — One of the two candidates for Afghan president will withdraw from a bitterly contested audit of the results unless election officials meet a series of technical demands made by his campaign, one of his top aides said Tuesday. |
| Declaring the process a “joke,” Fazul Ahmad Manawi, the chief auditor for the candidate, Abdullah Abdullah, said Mr. Abdullah would stop cooperating with it and would withdraw from the election entirely unless the demands were met by Wednesday morning. | Declaring the process a “joke,” Fazul Ahmad Manawi, the chief auditor for the candidate, Abdullah Abdullah, said Mr. Abdullah would stop cooperating with it and would withdraw from the election entirely unless the demands were met by Wednesday morning. |
| As if to underscore the disarray into which the presidential election has descended, Mr. Manawi’s news conference, at the headquarters of the Independent Election Commission, was immediately followed by a melee, with representatives of Mr. Abdullah and his opponent, Ashraf Ghani, shouting and throwing punches until the riot police arrived and restored order, arresting at least two people. | As if to underscore the disarray into which the presidential election has descended, Mr. Manawi’s news conference, at the headquarters of the Independent Election Commission, was immediately followed by a melee, with representatives of Mr. Abdullah and his opponent, Ashraf Ghani, shouting and throwing punches until the riot police arrived and restored order, arresting at least two people. |
| There was no immediate statement from the Ghani campaign in response to Mr. Manawi’s withdrawal threat. | There was no immediate statement from the Ghani campaign in response to Mr. Manawi’s withdrawal threat. |
| An exhaustive audit is being conducted of all the sealed ballots from the June 14 runoff. Objections from the candidates’ representatives have repeatedly stalled and delayed the counting, making it increasingly unlikely that Afghanistan will have a new president in place before an important NATO summit meeting in Wales on Sept. 4 and 5. | An exhaustive audit is being conducted of all the sealed ballots from the June 14 runoff. Objections from the candidates’ representatives have repeatedly stalled and delayed the counting, making it increasingly unlikely that Afghanistan will have a new president in place before an important NATO summit meeting in Wales on Sept. 4 and 5. |
| After two visits by Secretary of State John Kerry, most recently on Aug. 8, both candidates pledged to cooperate with the audit and accept its results, then join together in a national unity government led by whoever is determined the winner. | After two visits by Secretary of State John Kerry, most recently on Aug. 8, both candidates pledged to cooperate with the audit and accept its results, then join together in a national unity government led by whoever is determined the winner. |
| “The U.N. notes, that on both 12 July and 8 August the candidates already explicitly committed to accepting the result of the audit,” the United Nations here said in a written statement. “Should one campaign choose not to participate in the conclusion of the enormous exercise which they requested, the United Nations and the domestic and international observers will increase their participation so as to ensure the continuing credibility of the process.” | “The U.N. notes, that on both 12 July and 8 August the candidates already explicitly committed to accepting the result of the audit,” the United Nations here said in a written statement. “Should one campaign choose not to participate in the conclusion of the enormous exercise which they requested, the United Nations and the domestic and international observers will increase their participation so as to ensure the continuing credibility of the process.” |
| Western diplomats have said that it appears likely that the audit will find fraud on both sides and that the invalidated votes will not be enough to change the result, with Mr. Ghani most likely to be the winning candidate. | Western diplomats have said that it appears likely that the audit will find fraud on both sides and that the invalidated votes will not be enough to change the result, with Mr. Ghani most likely to be the winning candidate. |
| In the initial voting on April 6, Mr. Abdullah, in a field of 10 candidates, was the largest vote-getter by a large margin but not a majority, forcing a runoff between himself and Mr. Ghani. The Abdullah campaign has alleged a conspiracy between Mr. Ghani and President Hamid Karzai’s government to rig the runoff. | In the initial voting on April 6, Mr. Abdullah, in a field of 10 candidates, was the largest vote-getter by a large margin but not a majority, forcing a runoff between himself and Mr. Ghani. The Abdullah campaign has alleged a conspiracy between Mr. Ghani and President Hamid Karzai’s government to rig the runoff. |
| On Monday, the Independent Election Commission began what it calls the adjudication process, in which, based on the audit results, it declares fraudulent votes invalidated. Representatives of the Abdullah campaign complained that too few votes were being invalidated, based on results Monday and Tuesday, leading to the present dispute. | On Monday, the Independent Election Commission began what it calls the adjudication process, in which, based on the audit results, it declares fraudulent votes invalidated. Representatives of the Abdullah campaign complained that too few votes were being invalidated, based on results Monday and Tuesday, leading to the present dispute. |
| “If by tomorrow the United Nations and the I.E.C. do not meet our demands, we are going to withdraw from the audit process and announce the end of our participation in the election process,” Mr. Manawi said. “Whatever the outcome would be will not be our responsibility anymore and will not be acceptable to us.” The United Nations is assisting in the audit, providing technical experts and advice. | “If by tomorrow the United Nations and the I.E.C. do not meet our demands, we are going to withdraw from the audit process and announce the end of our participation in the election process,” Mr. Manawi said. “Whatever the outcome would be will not be our responsibility anymore and will not be acceptable to us.” The United Nations is assisting in the audit, providing technical experts and advice. |
| Mr. Manawi did not make public what the campaign’s five demands were. “The invalidation process is just a joke, and there is no intention of throwing out fraudulent votes,” Reuters quoted Mr. Manawi as saying. | Mr. Manawi did not make public what the campaign’s five demands were. “The invalidation process is just a joke, and there is no intention of throwing out fraudulent votes,” Reuters quoted Mr. Manawi as saying. |
| An official with the Abdullah campaign confirmed that it was Mr. Abdullah’s intention to withdraw from participation in the audit and the election unless the demands were met. The campaign cited a report published recently by The New York Times that suggested that as much as a fourth of all the votes cast in the runoff may have been fraudulent as justification for the campaign’s position. | |
| The fighting Tuesday came just a week after a similar scuffle, on Aug. 19, at the election commission headquarters between election observers from both campaigns. That fight sent three people to the hospital with knife and scissor wounds. Fights among the monitors also broke out on Aug. 6 and July 25, according to Afghan news accounts. | The fighting Tuesday came just a week after a similar scuffle, on Aug. 19, at the election commission headquarters between election observers from both campaigns. That fight sent three people to the hospital with knife and scissor wounds. Fights among the monitors also broke out on Aug. 6 and July 25, according to Afghan news accounts. |