KABUL - The vote auditing process concluded yesterday evening while the invalidation exercise will kick off today, the Independent Election Commission (IEC) announced on Sunday.

IEC Deputy Chairman Abdul Rahman Hotaki told Pajhwok Afghan News that the special audit of 6,000 ballot boxes would continue with greater attention and caution.  

He said the commission had requested both candidates to prevent their observers from wasting time. There was a need for more focus on wrapping up the vote audit, he added. The audit was initiated on July 17.

Daud Sultanzoy, a member of Dr Ashraf Ghani’s team, said with the end of the normal audit, focus should be on the special scrutiny because people were frustrated due to the long crisis.

Zahir Aghbar, a member of Dr. Abdullah’s team, hoped the new president would be announced in the next 10 days. He voiced satisfactions with the audit, saying things were going ahead under UN supervision.

A day earlier, President Hamid Karzai stressed upon the early conclusion of the process, saying Afghanistan should have a new president on Sept. 2.

Meanwhile, Noor Mohammad Noor, the IEC spokesman, said the scrutiny of 70 percent votes -- around 16,000 ballot boxes -- had been completed so far by 280 teams working in two shifts. (Pajhwok)