Afghanistan's Abdullah claims wins first round of election

Afghanistan’s chief executive Abdullah Abdullah, President Ashraf Ghani’s top rival, has claimed that he has won the weekend’s first round of presidential election.

Abdullah is seeking the presidency for the third time. He lost in 2009 and 2014.

The Afghan chief executive said at a news conference on Monday that his team would “make the new government.”

“We have the most votes in this election,” Abdullah said, adding, “The results will be announced by the IEC (Independent Election Commission), but we have the most votes. The election is not going to go to a second round.”

Abdullah also mentioned reports that “some government officials” had meddled in the election process.

Several videos on social media purport to show election workers stuffing ballots in favor of Ghani.

Zuhra Bayan Shinwari, head of the IEC complaints division, said the panel had so far received 2,569 complaints.

The IEC has yet to finish tallying the election turnout.

Abdullah’s announcement has met criticism.

Senior IEC official Habib Rahman Nang said, “No candidate has the right to declare himself the winner.”

SS