Abdullah Abdullah claimed victory Tuesday in Afghanistan’s disputed presidential election, blaming fraud for putting him behind in preliminary results as fears rise of instability and unrest.
Abdullah told a rally in Kabul he would fight on to win the presidency, but called for patience from loyalists who demanded he declare a “parallel government”. He said: “Without any doubt or hesitation, we will not accept a fraudulent result, not today, not tomorrow, never.”
A huge photograph of President Hamid Karzai was ripped down from the stage, underlining the boiling anger among Abdullah’s supporters after the preliminary result in favour of rival Ashraf Ghani. The election standoff sparked concern that protests could spiral into ethnic violence and a return to the fighting that ravaged Afghanistan during the 1992-1996 civil war.
But Abdullah called for unity as the country faces a difficult transfer of power, after Karzai’s 13-year rule ends and as 50,000 US-led troops wind down their battle against Taliban insurgents.
The US issued a strong warning to Abdullah over reports he may form a “parallel government” in defiance of the runoff results, that said Ghani took 56.4 per cent to Abdullah’s 43.5 per cent. In the eight-man first-round April 5 poll, Abdullah was far ahead with 45 per cent, against Ghani’s 31.6 per cent. Abdullah said he spoke to US President Barack Oba-ma on the crisis, adding that US secretary of state John Kerry would visit Kabul on Friday.