WASHINGTON, Oct 10: The United States on Sunday described the complaint that the Afghan presidential election was rigged as a technical problem and hoped that authorities will address this problem.
In a statement issued in Washington, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher noted that there were reports of technical problems at some polling stations. "We are confident that the Joint Electoral Management Body, which is charged with overseeing the elections, will review and address those complaints, he added.
In a separate statement, issued also in Washington, special presidential envoy and US Ambassador to Kabul, Zalmay Khalilzad, urged both winners and losers to accept the result.
Afghanistan's first presidential election, held peacefully on Saturday, was thrown into chaos after 15 candidates opposing President Hamid Karzai declared the results invalid, complaining of fraud and improper procedures.
The State Department noted that the electoral body had promised that all complaints would be thoroughly investigated and dispelled the impression that the complaints had cast doubt on the validity of the election.
"Today history is made in Afghanistan. We congratulate the Afghan people on exercising their political right to choose their country's next leader," said Mr Boucher. The Afghans, he said, have much to be proud of in bringing their country to this point, just three years after the end of a quarter century of war and repression.
He noted that millions of Afghans participated in the election to select their next president through secret ballot across their country, and in Iran and Pakistan. Initial reports, he said, indicate that the turnout was extraordinarily high and voters, including a large number of women, waited patiently for hours to cast their votes.
