Kabul, Oct 19 (DPA) A UN-backed Election Complaints Commission announced Monday its verdict on contested ballots from the Aug 20 Afghan presidential election, but it was not known if the rulings would push the country to a runoff vote.
“The ECC has finalised all of its decisions with respect to polling and counting for the presidential elections and has officially communicated them to the IEC,” the election panel said in a statement.

In the statement, the ECC ordered the Independent Election Commission (IEC), which conducted the elections, to adjust all presidential candidates’ vote totals in accordance with the ECC’s decisions before announcing the certified results.

The ECC’s decisions included invalidating 210 polling stations around the country, where the panel already found “clear and convincing evidence of fraud,” while another 18 polling stations, which were set aside by IEC and where no evidence of fraud was found ,”may be included in the results,” the statement said.

In its third decision ensuing from the audit and recount process of sample ballots, the ECC ordered the IEC to “invalidate a certain percentage of each candidate’s votes in six separate categories.”

While the certified results would be announced within two days, according to IEC officials, BBC said that it learned from election officials that the verdict pushed President Hamid Karzai’s share of vote to below 50 percent, forcing him into a runoff with his top challenger and former foreign minister, Abdullah Abdullah.

Karzai won re-election by garnering 50 percent of votes, according to preliminary results. The incumbent is thought likely to reject the verdict, because he claims he won the vote outright.

Karzai is under mounting pressure from his government’s Western allies to accept the outcome.

Afghan and Western diplomats have said that members of the Karzai and Abdullah camps were discussing ways to share power and avert the second round, which would be almost impossible due to the onset of winter and Taliban threats of attacks.