UN Condemns Clash Between Afghan Candidate's Team, Electoral Workers

Independent Election Commission (IEC) workers recount ballots in Kabul. (file photo)

The United Nations’ Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has condemned a clash in Kabul between presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah’s campaign team and workers from Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission.

The clash on August 19 at the compound where the ballots from Afghanistan’s presidential election are being audited left several people injured.

In a statement on August 20, UNAMA noted that the clash was not the first time that heated arguments involving representatives of campaign teams have culminated in violence.

The statement said campaign team supervisors "are responsible for guiding their workers and for controlling the situation so that disputes do not deteriorate into confrontation.”

Washington brokered a deal for an audit and national unity government between Abdullah and rival candidate Ashraf Ghani amid allegations of massive fraud in the June second-round vote.

But there are concerns there could be further disputes as the results of the audit emerge.