Ban Ki-moon Calls On Afghan Contenders to Accept The Election Result

KABUL: (Middle East Press) General Ban Ki-moon the United Nations (UN) Secretary has urged Afghan presidential candidates to accept the completed vote audit outcome and conclude a deal on formation of national unity government in accordance with commitments they reached on 12th July.

“The Secretary-General emphasizes that this is an essential moment for Afghanistan, and that genuine partnership will be required in tackling Afghanistan’s many challenges.

The UN Secretary General’s spokesman said following a statement, both teams share a real responsibility to guide Afghanistan to a peaceful and affluent future. Given the scale of the challenges, this can only be done jointly.”

The statement further noted, “The Secretary-General adds that in the 12 July agreement, with the support of John Kerry US Secretary of state, and their signed announcement of 8 August, the two candidates agreed to accept the result of a comprehensive nationwide audit of the presidential election run-off results and form a government of national unity.”

“With the main audit completed on 4 September and the announcement of updated results anticipated shortly, the Secretary-General expects that the candidates will now abide by their commitments to enable Afghanistan’s first ever peaceful transfer of power,” the statement added.

This comes as presidential contender Dr. Abdullah Abdullah said Monday that his team will not accept the vote results, accusing the electoral staff for being involved in a huge fraud in favour of his rival Dr. Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai.