FAIZABAD (SW) – Supporters of a number of Wolesi Jirga (lower house) candidates from Badakhshan province on Tuesday closed down the Independent Election Commission office in protest.
Asserting widespread irregularities and rigging have taken place in the polls, they closed down the IEC office in the province. Supporters of the candidates torched their identity cards, and vowed to continue with the protest until their demand for recount is not met.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Uddin, external affairs manager at the IEC in Badakhshan, has said the recount has already taken place in the presence of the observers of protesting WJ candidates. He stressed the electoral observers of these agitating candidates have already signed the results sheet for the recounted votes.
However, the protesters charge the IEC for not being honest in separating fake votes from the genuine ones. They said not separating the biometric-verified votes from the rigged votes would seriously undermine peoples’ trust in the process.
ENDS
