(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) Presidential hopeful Ashraf Ghani said Sunday he is determined to fight and go on for a runoff and not to strike any deal with his rival Abdullah Abdullah.
"People should decide who had the ability to bring changes to the system," Ghani said in a press statement. He further said that investigations into fraud could change the percentages and lessen the distance between the two top candidates before final results due on May 14.
The preliminary results from the April 5 presidential elections show Abdullah Abdullah has secured the most votes 44.9 percent followed by Ghani with 31.5 percent but none could secure the magic 50 plus one percent to avoid a runoff.
The Independent Electoral Complaint Commission (IECC) on Sunday announced April 27 as the deadline for filing complaints in connection of preliminary results from April 5 election but so far none of the contenders filed any complaint.
The leading candidate Dr. Abdullah Abdullah has said, "No concerns the election is headed for a runoff but measures should be adopted to halt fraud and rigging in the second round of ballot." The United Nations' mission in Afghanistan welcomed the preliminary results on Sunday and highlighted that election officials must address all complaints in a professional, expeditious and open manner to safeguard the process.
The turnout in April 5 polls across Afghanistan was unexpectedly high where nearly seven million people voted out of an estimated electorate of 13.5 million.
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