Thousands of people gathered in Kabul on Friday to protest over the recount of votes in the presidential election held on September 28.
Most of the demonstrators were supporters of Abdullah Abdullah, the country’s current chief executive and one of the leading candidates, but there were also many supporters of other candidates who have boycotted the recount of votes, many of which they allege are fraudulent.
“We voted despite so many challenges and security threats, and we are here to defend our votes,” Haji Aimal Jalali, a 28-year-old protester from Kabul, told The National. “We are here to bury the people who are behind election fraud.”
Mr Jalali was taking part in the protest in the north of the capital and marching with a crowd of nearly 1,000 people to Pashtunistan Square in central Kabul. Marches from around the city are converging at the historical square, and security forces are expecting more than 10,000 people to gather there by the end of the day. While some protesters were carrying guns, the demonstrations have been peaceful so far.
Elections observers from Mr Abdullah’s team, called the Stability and Convergence campaign, claimed that as many as 300,000 votes are fraudulent and has called for them to be declared invalid before a recount.
Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission has already rejected nearly one million votes over irregularities, leaving only about 1.8 million votes from a total of 9.6 million registered voters. The commission has postponed the announcement of the election results several times already, citing technical issues and the need for transparency.
“We are out here asking for justice from IEC,” said Malik Gul Rabi, 40, a supporter of Mr Abdullah. “I voted and I will defend our votes for as long as I am alive. We will not let the fraudulent people lead this country,” he told The National.
Read the full report on The National
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