Votes in up to 3,000 polling stations to be recounted: IECC

KABUL (TOLO News): The number of polling stations where votes will be recounted has increased to 2,988 from over 1,600, says the Independent Electoral Complaints Commission (IECC), which has almost completed the assessment of the votes.

The polling stations belonged to 19 provinces, IECC spokesman Mohammad Qasim Elyasi said.

He said the commission received 381 followup complaints on its initial decisions about the assessed complaints.

Nangarhar, with 1,580, has the highest number of polling stations to be recounted, according to the IECC. There will be recounts in Kunar, with 248 polling stations, Paktia with 386 polling stations, Nimroz with 177, and Helmand with 150 polling stations.

“The (election) commission has asked us to provide the information based on provinces… The weather is cold and they need to send their employees there. Therefore, it may take some time,” Elyasi said.

IECC provincial offices have announced their decisions on electoral complaints in 20 provinces. Followup complaints have been received in response to these decisions in nine provinces, officials said.

The IECC decision on vote recounting has faced opposition by President Ghani’s campaign team – the State Builder.

“Based on decision 104 of the Independent Election Commission, thousands of votes were sent for recounting; therefore, another vote recount will not have any sense,” said Ajmal Hodman, member of Ghani’s campaign team.

But a member of Abdullah Abdullah’s campaign team said there might be a change in the final results of the elections if the vote recount is done transparently.

“No doubt, there will be change (in the final results) if clean votes are differentiated from ‘fraudulent’ votes and if the process is carried out based on the regulations,” said Mohammad Yunus Nawandish, member of Abdullah Abdullah’s election campaign team.

The IECC is expected to end its assessments in the coming two days and it will then have 24 days to decide on the final results.