**Afghan President Hamid Karzai says he believes in the integrity of last month’s election process amid allegations of vote-rigging.**He said he had been “surprised and rather shocked” by EU observers who recently claimed about a quarter of votes could be fraudulent.
Mr Karzai said it was up to the Afghan constitutional bodies to investigate the claims of fraud.
Final preliminary results have given Mr Karzai victory with 54.6%.
“I believe firmly, firmly in the integrity of the election and the integrity of the Afghan people, and the integrity of the government in that process,” Mr Karzai told a news conference.
He accepted there were some government officials who were “partial” to his candidacy, and others who supported his chief rival Abdullah Abdullah.
This was inevitable “until Afghanistan grows into a more stable state structure”, he said.
Mr Karzai also denied there was “major fraud” during the 20 August election.
“It wasn’t that big. If there was fraud, it was small - it happens all over the world,” he said.
But he also added that any allegations of fraud should be investigated “fairly and without prejudice”.