Brussels, 14/07/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Sunday 13 July, the European Union welcomed the agreement between Afghan presidential candidates, Abdullah Abduallah and Ashraf Ghani, on a comprehensive audit of the results of the presidential elections. This “is a confirmation of their desire to fulfil the democratic aspirations of the Afghan people and restore confidence in the election process”, said the spokesperson for High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton. “We applaud the two candidates for their leadership and readiness for compromise in the interest of the people of Afghanistan”, Ashton's spokesperson added. Both candidates declared themselves the winners in the second round of the presidential elections on 14 June and mutually accused each other of fraud. On 8 July, the EU called for the results to be audited (see EUROPE 11118).
Ashton's spokesperson also commended US Secretary of State John Kerry and Jan Kubis, Special Representative for Afghanistan of the United Nations Secretary-General, for “their tireless efforts to facilitate this agreement”. Kerry travelled to Afghanistan to obtain this agreement on auditing 100% of the votes from the second round - in other words, 8 million votes. He says that the process could take several weeks.
Ashton's spokesperson reiterated that the EU will continue supporting “a democratic and legitimate transition of power in Afghanistan including through the EU election assessment team which will closely follow the agreed auditing” of election results. (CG)