The Chief Executive of the National Unity Government and presidential candidate, Abdullah Abdullah, said recount of ballots should start after clean and unclean votes are sorted out for the sake of “national interests”. Speaking to a rally of his supporters at the Loya Jirga tent in Kabul Sunday, he stressed his team’s election observers would boycott the official recount of ballots ahead of long-delayed election results, labeling any decision on election results in their absence as “illegitimate”. Abdullah said he showed flexibility in 2014 for national interests, insisting that the country’s national interests required the invalidation of “fraudulent votes” or else he would not make any compromise this time.
The boycott of the ballot recounting process by three presidential tickets marks the dawn of an election dispute that has to be averted before further deepening, as it can face the country with enormous challenges, including the collapse of the regime, in the current critical situation. The climate of deep mistrust among the electoral stakeholders seems to have dragged the electoral process to a complete failure. If the vote recount is carried out in the absence of observers of presidential teams, and then IEC announces the results, there is no way the outcome will be accepted. Therefore, the trust deficit between electoral institutions and presidential teams must be bridged before the announcement of election results, thereby avoiding a repeat of the bitter experience of the 2014 election dispute in the country.
If the mistrust between the election stakeholders is as tense as it requires mediation, the United Nations has to step in. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), which is deeply involved in the electoral process, should come forward and with utter neutrality, lure the presidential tickets into accepting the legitimate and genuine election results. As an impartial intermediary, UNAMA can play a key role in the settlement of the unfolding electoral controversy. Also as an international organization representing all states, UN has the responsibility to play an active role in preventing Afghanistan from plunging into another political crisis. In case of lack of confidence in the electoral institutions, the presidential tickets must welcome UN’s role and accept the legitimate winner of the election as the newly-elected president of the country without creating any political disturbance and headache, and begin to play the role of a successful, legal opposition. It is better to lead an effective opposition than be a part of a failed coalition government.
