Afghanistan says over 3,000 complaints about vote
Afghanistan's electoral watchdog said on Tuesday that it has received over 3,000 complaints about irregularities in the run-up to Saturday's parliamentary election and on polling day itself. The Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) said 1,388 complaints had been received specifically about election day irregularities -- which could affect the results -- ahead of a 4 pm (1130 GMT deadline) deadline for submissions.ECC commissioner and spokesman Ahmad Zia Rafaat told AFP that on top of those complaints, another 1,700 had been lodged relating to problems ahead of the vote.
There are concerns that the ECC could be hard-pressed to handle the volume of complaints, which are expected to rise as preliminary results are posted on its website.More than 2,500 candidates stood for the 249 seats in parliament's lower house, or Wolesi Jirga, and many of the losers are expected to lodge complaints. Canada.com: Afghanistan braces for rush of poll complaints.