**Afghanistan’s Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has said it will announce final results of August’s disputed presidential elections.**The announcement comes a day after a UN-backed panel, the ECC, said it had found clear evidence of fraud.
President Hamid Karzai will accept the IEC’s results, his spokesman says.
But it is not clear whether the IEC, which is widely believed to be pro-Karzai, will follow the UN panel’s recommendations.
Initial results released last month gave Mr Karzai nearly 55% of votes, and his main rival Abdullah Abdullah 28%, suggesting the president had won outright.
But the ECC said that after fraudulent ballots were discounted, Mr Karzai’s total was reduced to below 50%, indicating that a second round was needed.
AFGHAN ELECTION BODIES
Election Commission
- Constitutional body appointed by Afghan president to oversee polls
- Registers voters, runs polling stations, issues results
- Accountable to Afghan parliament and people
Electoral Complaints Commission
- Independent panel, two of its five members are Afghans
- Investigates allegations of fraud and passes findings to IEC
- Reports to IEC but law states IEC must accept ECC findings
Afghan poll: Possible outcomes
Mr Karzai has previously refused a run-off, insisting he won the election outright.
He could also seek a power-sharing deal with Mr Abdullah.
“Our commissioners are meeting now to discuss the figures sent by the ECC and will announce a final decision today,” IEC spokesman Noor Mohammad Noor said.
On Monday the ECC said it had found “clear and convincing evidence of fraud”.
The panel ordered that ballots from 210 polling stations across the country be discounted.
According to respected US-based group Democracy International, Mr Karzai’s share of the vote has now fallen to 48.29%, and Mr Abdullah has 31.5%.
About 1.3 million votes for Karzai were invalid, about a quarter of the total cast, the group added.
In the last few days Western leaders and diplomats have engaged in a rapid round of diplomacy to get Mr Karzai to accept the election results.
Washington - which has been debating a request for 40,000 more US troops for Afghanistan - has put any decision on hold for the time being.