UNITED NATIONS, September 18 (RIA Novosti) - With the final results of Afghanistan's presidential election set to be announced soon, UN special representative to the country Jan Kubis told the Security Council on Thursday that the candidates should strike a deal on government unity within one or two days – or face the risk of insurgency.
"If there is no agreement by the time of the certification of the results, new dynamics will be set in play with the potential to trigger further uncertainty, even the risk of conflict. The time remaining is now short - and by this I mean one or two days," Kubis told the Security Council by video from Kabul.
The official also raised the issue of rising insurgency in Afghanistan, noting that "the drawdown of international military personnel appears to have emboldened some hardline elements who still – wrongly – believe that there can be a military victory." He added that in the first eight months of 2014, civilian casualties rose by 15 percent compared to the same period in 2013 with 2,312 killed and 4,533 injured.
Summing up his last briefing as the head of the UN Assistant Mission in Afghanistan, Jan Kubis underscored the need to support the Afghan people's aspirations for a better future.
Preliminary results for Afghanistan's presidential elections, held in June, were released on July 7, showing former Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani having garnered 56 percent of the votes. His contender, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, claimed the elections were fraudulent.
During a visit to Kabul last month, US Secretary of State John Kerry brokered a deal paving the way for a full audit of votes in Afghanistan. The examination is due to be completed on Friday and then sent back to the Independent Elections Commission although the exact date of the final results" declaration has not been specified, according to Reuters.
