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| Afghanistan |
| Amarkhail Resigns in Wake of Fraud Allegations |
| 2014-06-24 |
| [Tolo News] The Independent Election Commission's (IEC) Secretariat Chief, Zia-ul-Haq Amarkhail, announced his resignation on live television Monday afternoon. The announcement came just a day after presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah released phone recordings of conversations allegedly between Amarkhail and members of the campaign team of his opponent, Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai. The recordings suggest a broad plot to conduct fraud during the runoff election, however, the identities of the voices on them have yet to be confirmed. Announcing his resignation at a press conference alongside IEC Chairman Ahmed Yousuf Nuristani, Amarkhail claimed his decision was not forced and was not made in light of the recordings. He claimed the phone taps were fake and that he had never had the conversations. "I have not resigned under the pressure of anyone," Amarkhail said. "I have only resigned for the sake of the process and national interests." Amarkhail "strongly rejected" the accusations against him, and said there had been a longstanding conspiracy to try to oust him from the IEC. He claimed he had rejected many bribes and offers for positions over the course of the past year. |
| Posted by:Fred |