KABUL (AFP) – Preliminary results from Afghanistan's presidential election have been delayed for a second time, election officials announced Wednesday, a postponement likely to fuel more political uncertainty and fraud allegations.
The September 28 poll has already been marred by a record-low turnout and bickering between the incumbent, President Ashraf Ghani, and his chief rival, Abdullah Abdullah.
The preliminary results were originally due for October 19 -- but the announcement was delayed until November 14, with officials from the Independent Election Commissions (IEC) citing various technical problems. Now that date has been pushed back also.
"Unfortunately due to technical problems and other issues, we will not be able to announce the election results tomorrow," IEC spokesman Abdul Aziz Ibrahimi told AFP on Wednesday, without providing details or a new date.
IEC officials are expected to hold a press conference on the matter on Thursday.
The fresh delay comes shortly after the IEC issued a statement saying it had to stop a planned recount and audit of the votes after some candidates said they would boycott and protest the process, claiming fraud.
The IEC had begun a recount of votes from more than 8,000 polling stations –- almost a third of the total –- on Saturday, but the process was challenged mainly by Abdullah's supporters.
Abdullah -- who currently works as chief executive in a unity government with Ghani -- has previously raised questions about the validity of some 300,000 additional votes which he says did not come through biometric devices used in the polling, and thus should be invalidated.
"The recounting should be stopped. We are trying to save the process from fraudsters," he said at a rally of his supporters in Kabul last week.