Afghanistan's security forces are reportedly bracing themselves for street demonstrations in the coming days, in the wake of rival political camps trading allegations of fraud in the two-staged presidential elections.
According to the BBC, the first official results are not expected until July 2.
All sides have reportedly been urged to show restraint, even as the Election Complaints Commission (ECC) of Afghanistan has begun to sift through more than 2,500 alleged violations, levelled at both presidential hopefuls and election officials.
Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah had said on Wednesday that he had suspended work with the country's electoral bodies, and had asked them to stop counting votes because of widespread fraud.
Media reports quoted him, as saying, "The counting process should stop immediately. There is no way that the counting could continue in the absence of our monitors.And, in regard to the legitimacy, all that we are asking for is the legitimacy of the process, regardless of who has more votes."
Abdullah's refusal to work with the country's election commissions has pushed the country into a deeper political crisis just days after the run-off vote.
His presidential poll rival and ex-World Bank economist Ashraf Ghani and his supporters have also registered complaints of fraud and have accused Dr. Abdullah of being selective in his criticism. But they have been less specific in their claims and urged all parties to respect the political process.
Meanwhile, President Karzai is holding meetings amid a growing clamour to have a senior member of the election body suspended.
It is being alleged that Zia-Ul-Haq Amarkhail personally interfered in the electoral process. He was seen shifting unused ballot material out of the election headquarters.
Attempts to stop him by a senior member of the police were broadcast on Afghan TV on election day, but there has been no explanation about what he was up to, creating suspicion in some quarters that the extra ballots could have been used fraudulently.
Among the other alleged transgressions that the ECC is having to probe are ballot stuffing, intimidation, and underage voting.
In the first round of voting on April 5, none of the eight candidates in the electoral fray, including Abdullah Abdullah and Ghani, could secured the prescribed 50 per cent of the vote required to be declared the next president of Afghanistan.
The Free and Fair Election Forum of Afghanistan (FEFA), an Afghan watchdog body charged with trying to improve democracy and governance, is calling on Afghanistan's leaders to show restraint.
