KABUL, Oct 31, 2009 (AFP) -Opposition candidate Abdullah Abdullah will call a boycott of Afghanistan's run-off presidential poll if a series of demands are not met by the end of Saturday, officials in his campaign team said.
“If our conditions are not met today, Dr. Abdullah will announce his decision in a conference tomorrow (Sunday),” a senior official in his campaign team told AFP on condition of anonymity.
“We will not participate in an election which is not transparent and fraud-free,” he added.
Following widespread fraud in the first round in August, Abdullah has demanded President Hamid Karzai sack the head of the Independent Electoral Commission and suspend three ministers who have campaigned for the incumbent.
Karzai, who fell fractionally short of an outright majority in the first round, has so far flatly rejected the demands.
Asked what the former foreign minister's stance would be if his conditions are not met, a pro-Abdullah lawmaker who has been involved in his campaign said that the candidate would not participate in the November 7 run-off.
“As we have said in the past, we will not participate in an unsound process,” Ahmad Bezad told AFP.
“If our conditions are not met and an election takes place on November 7, that will not be an election but a fraud trap and we will not go for a fraud trap, we will not participate.” |
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