Afghanistan: Election crisis

2004-10-09 11:25

Kabul - All 15 candidates running against interim Afghan leader Hamid Karzai have signed an agreement boycotting the vote because of what they say is widespread fraud, and say they will not recognise the election results.

The announcement was read out after a meeting of candidates and their representatives at the home of Abdul Satar Sirat, an Uzbek who is an ex-aide to Afghanistan's last king.

"Today's election is not a legitimate election. It should be stopped and we don't recognize the results," Sirat said.

Electoral commission spokesperson Aykut Tavsel said organisers were holding an urgent meeting to decide how to proceed.

"Directors are meeting to decide what to do," Tavsel told The Associated Press. "Our official position right now is that the elections go on."

However, when asked if the elections could be abandoned or postponed, Tavsel replied: "Any of these scenarios are possible."

Sirat said every one of the 15 candidates still in the race against Karzai had signed the petition and agreed to boycott the election, and many other candidates at the meeting confirmed they had joined the petition. It was not immediately possible to reach all 15 camps.

"We are not taking part today," Sirat said. "This vote is a fraud."

- AP