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Key Afghan Presidential Candidate Demands Halt to Vote Recount

Ayaz Gul

   ISLAMABAD - A frontrunner in Afghanistan's recently held presidential
   election called Sunday for immediately halting a recount of the vote,
   casting aspersions on the integrity and legitimacy of the already
   delayed electoral process.

   Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah made the demand a day after
   unilaterally withdrawing his team's election observers from the
   recounting process ahead of Thursday's scheduled announcement of the
   preliminary results from the September 28 polls.

   The country's Independent Election Commission (IEC) was due to release
   first results on October 19 but failed to meet the deadline, citing
   capacity issues and efforts aimed at ensuring transparency of the
   process.

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