Ghani leads Afghan presidential run-off, Abdullah rejects result

The Afghanistan Election Commission Monday said former finance minister Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai was leading the preliminary results of June's presidential runoff polls. His opponent Abdullah Abdullah's team, however, termed the declaration "illegitimate".

Abdullah's team said no decision of the election commission was acceptable unless transparency is ensured in the polling process.

"Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai secured 56.44 percent of more than eight million votes in the presidential runoff held June 14, while his contender Abdullah Abdullah garnered 43.56 percent," Xinhua quoted Election Commission chairman Ahmad Yusuf Nuristani as saying.

Abdullah, who secured 45 percent of some seven million votes in the April 16 presidential elections against Ghani, has already suspended his engagement with the election commission, saying any decision taken by the body was unacceptable unless and until the clean votes are filtered from the fake ones.

Abdullah's second vice president designate Haji Mohammad Mohaqiq has also rejected the results of the presidential runoff as "illegal".

Moreover, a spokesman of Abdullah's team, Mujib Rahman Rahimi, told local television Tolo: "What has been announced by the election commission as preliminary results of the elections is illegitimate and is not acceptable to us."

Rahimi also warned of dire consequences if the demands of Abdullah's team were overlooked.