Kabul, May 22 (IANS): As the three-week campaign for the second round of Afghan presidential elections between the two frontrunners began Thursday, both the presidential hopefuls have called for a transparent result of the runoff.
"We want a transparent result for the second round of the elections. This is the demand of the people that their votes must be respected and the Independent Election Commission (IEC) and the Election Complaints Commission (ECC) should discharge their responsibility honestly as per the law," Xinhua quoted Abdullah Abdullah as saying while addressing hundreds of his supporters.
He also called upon the Afghans to use their right for suffrage in the second round of the presidential polls.
The IEC announced the final results of the April 5 presidential election May 15, in which Abdullah Abdullah secured 45 percent of the votes followed by Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai who bagged 31.6 percent, paving the way for run-off between the two frontrunners in the race.
Around seven million Afghans of some 12 million eligible voters cast their ballots April 5 amid Taliban threats of violence to elect a successor for outgoing President Hamid Karzai who has been ruling the war-torn country since the collapse of Taliban regime in late 2001.
The new president will lead the country for the next five years.
In his speech to his supporters, Abdullah's rival in the race, Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, besides emphasising a fair and transparent result of the runoff, promised to provide job opportunities and justice in society if he won.
The runoff elections will be held June 14 and the final results will be announced July 22, according to the election commission.