Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah claims victory in lingering election

"The fraud committed in the election process has caused deadlock. I would continue to defend the right of the people and votes they cast in and would never accept the fraud-marred election results," Abdullah said in a public meeting attended by hundreds of his supporters.

Afghanistan presidential election was held on April 5 and since none of the eight contenders got more than 50 percent of the votes, two frontrunners Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai went for the runoff on June 14.

Abdullah who bagged majority of the votes in the first round of the elections and stood second in the runoff had accused the election commission of committing fraud in favor of Ghani Ahmadzai and demanded votes audit.

However, Noor Mohammad Noor, the spokesman for the election commission, said Friday that the votes auditing and recounting process was completed Thursday and the results would be announced in few days.

Meantime, Abdullah insisted on Monday that he is the winner of the presidential elections if the genuine votes had been separated from the fake one. "Based on the genuine votes cast in the election process, I am the winner," Abdullah said, adding a transparent and fair election is the foundation for durable peace and stability in Afghanistan.

Abdullah said that he is against violence but would defend his right and the right of those voted in his favor through civilized way, Xinhua reported Monday.

Presidential hopeful Abdullah also added that political talks with his opponent Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai for the formation of a national unity government have faced standoff, saying a national unity government is for the interests of the country.