Abdullah claims victory in Afghanistan

(Vatican Radio) Thousands of Afghans supporting presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah rallied in the capital Kabul on Tuesday, claiming the preliminary results released on Monday in favour of his opponent, Ashraf Ghani, included invalid ballots. Abdullah, too, rejected Monday’s results, saying the vote was marred by fraud.

While final and official election results are only expected to be released on July 22, Abdullah’s supporters are urging him to assert his leadership and to set up his new cabinet for a parallel government immediately.

However, United States Secretary of State John Kerry issued a swift statement on Tuesday, saying “suggestions of a ‘parallel government’” were of grave concern.

He warned the U.S. would withdraw financial and security support from Afghanistan if anyone tried to take power illegally. According to Abdullah, Kerry is expected to arrive in Kabul on Friday, after the annual U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue in Beijing.

As recently as Monday, the U.S. called for a "full and thorough review" of alleged election irregularities in Afghanistan.

At a press briefing in Washington, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki underlined the need for an investigation.

"There are serious allegations of fraud, which I think you referenced there, and they've been raised and in our view they haven't been sufficiently investigated, so, right now, our focus is on encouraging a full and thorough review of all reasonable allegations of irregularities," Psaki said.

"We think that's essential to ensuring that the Afghan people have confidence in the integrity of their electoral process."

While most U.S.-led forces are expected to withdraw from the country this year, Tuesday’s rally in Kabul has dashed hopes for a smooth transition of power in Afghanistan, after the 12-year leadership of President Hamid Karzai.

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