Vote recount begins in Afghanistan despite opposition by campaign teams

Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission (IEC) began the recounting of votes despite opposition by the major election campaign teams here on Sunday.

According to the head of the IEC secretariat, Habib-Ur-Rahman Nang, the votes of 8,494 polling stations, out of a total of 26,000, will be recounted, Tolo News reported.

IEC's recount comes at a time when the election campaign teams in Afghanistan want the "fraudulent votes" to be taken care of ahead of any further move.

"Over the past forty-five days, the 2,400 ballot boxes were under the control of those who have plotted the whispered fraud, and anything can be found inside the boxes," Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah said on Sunday.

Presidential candidate Faramarz Tamanna, however, came in support of the recounting saying, "The non-biometric votes, as well as the votes that have been used on the election date, will be recounted. These votes must not be counted under any circumstances."

The State Builder campaign team led by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani also sided with the election commission's decision.

Afghan presidential elections were held on September 28 and the preliminary results will be announced on November 14.