Monitoring Desk
JALALABAD: An unsuccessful Wolesi Jirga candidate from eastern Nangarhar province has accused an employee of the Independent Election Commission (IEC) of seeking bribes and two armored vehicles from him.
Maiwand Jahani and Tila Mohammad Niazi, both unsuccessful candidates, told a press conference on Saturday the president and IEC should heed their complaints.
If their complaints were ignored, they would set themselves on fire, they warned, as a vote recount has been underway in Nangarhar.
Two other poll contestants from the same province earlier alleged that 4,000 of their votes had been missing.
Maiwand Jahani, who provided documents of fraud and rigging, claimed ballots based on the biometric system should be accounted for.
“An employee of IEC’s regional office visited my residence and demanded bribes including two armored vehicles for my victory,” he claimed. On the other hand, Tela Mohammad Niazi said he had secured more than 4,000 votes but the IEC count gave him only 491 in the initial result. He slammed the IEC office as a hub of corruption.
At a separate news briefing, the IEC head for Nangarhar called on protesting candidates to submit documentary proofs of fraud and rigging. Abdul Bade Sayad earlier asked the poll runners to use legal ways instead of making nonsense claims to get their complaints registered and addressed. (Pajhwok)
