Afghan runoff may lead to civil war

[unhappycamper]

http://atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/SOU-01-080714.html



Afghan runoff may lead to civil war
By M K Bhadrakumar
Jul 8, '14

The Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan announced in Kabul on Monday that according to preliminary results Dr Ahsraf Ghani won the June 14 run-off presidential election with 56.44% of the votes. The final tally is expected on July 22.

Ghani's opponent Dr Abdullah Abdullah has forcefully rejected the results and his camp described it as a "coup" against the Afghan people. Abdullah has been alleging that there has been extensive gerrymandering through the use of governmental machinery and accusing President Hamid Karzai of manipulating the runoff.

A smooth transition of power in Afghanistan appears highly problematic unless some sort of deal is worked out between Ghani and Abdullah before July 22. The residual hope lies in that Afghan-style deal-making can be quite deceptive. Compromise is found often at the last minute when outsiders have already given up hope.

In this case, such an outcome cannot entirely be ruled out - although, the prospects of that happening are receding by the day

[Tetris_Iguana]

1. Not entirely unexpected

[bemildred]

2. U.S. warns Afghans not to form 'parallel government'

KABUL (Reuters) - The United States warned on Tuesday that it would withdraw financial and security support from Afghanistan if anyone tried to take power illegally, as supporters of presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah rallied in Kabul for a parallel government.

Preliminary results announced on Monday gave Ashraf Ghani, a former World Bank official, 56.44 percent in the run-off on June 14, but Abdullah immediately rejected the outcome, saying the vote had been marred by widespread fraud.

Thousands of Abdullah's supporters gathered in the capital Kabul, demanding that he form a parallel government, a move likely to plunge a country already beset by deep ethnic divisions into even greater disorder.

Underscoring the magnitude of the crisis, Abdullah said U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who is currently in Beijing, would visit Kabul on Friday.

http://news.yahoo.com/supporters-afghanistans-abdullah-rally-disputed-vote-082633113.html