In Afghanistan the country's Electoral Complaints Commission says final results in its presidential elections will be delayed several more weeks.
Electoral officials sorted through ballots deciding how much of the vote to discount due to fraud. Chairman of the ECC, Grant Kippen, says the timeline for the declaration - scheduled this Thursday - would definitely not be met.
Grant Kippen, chairman of Electoral Complaints Commission, said, "The goal is to do this as timely as possible, so hopefully this will be a matter of weeks not months, but the more important thing from our perspective is it's done thoroughly. So when we make decisions, we have the information we need in order to be, make an informed decision. So this is our focus and our priority."
Delay in preliminary result
The election has been beset with allegations of fraud favoring incumbent President Hamid Karzai. Reports of ballot stuffing and phantom voters marred the August 20 vote, raising fears of new political instability in Afghanistan. It comes at a time of rising Taliban violence, and increased U.S. military presence. The result cannot be declared official until the ECC finishes its investigations.
Editor: Zhang Ning | Source: CCTV.com