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There was growing international concern yesterday over the future ofAfghanistan after the trailing candidate in the country's presidential election toyed publicly with setting up a parallel government, the latest crisis to hit a poll that had been hailed as a showcase of the country's transformation.

According to the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC), investigations into complaints filed regarding Election Day will be completed by midnight Wednesday without any remaining against the Independent Election Commission’s (IEC) Secretariat Chief Zia-ul-Haq Amarkhail, who resigned his post on Monday amid accusations of fraud.

According to ECC spokesman Nader Mohseni, the complaints that had been logged against Amarkhail were no longer relevant because they were only related to his post at the IEC, which he no longer occupies.

The Independent Election Commission's (IEC) Secretariat Chief, Zia-ul-Haq Amarkhail, announced his resignation on live television Monday afternoon.

The announcement came just a day after presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah released phone recordings of conversations allegedly between Amarkhail and members of the campaign team of his opponent, Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai. The recordings suggest a broad plot to conduct fraud during the runoff election, however, the identities of the voices on them have yet to be confirmed.

Presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah declaration on boycotting relations with the Independent Election Commission (IEC) raised reactions from the international community including the United Nations (UN), United States and Britain.

“Election commissions must show highest level of transparency and trustee and must address concerns of candidates,” Nazifullah Salarzay, spokesman for the United Nations Office in Afghanistan, said. “Efforts must be made to ensure that legit votes are counted and illegitimate votes are avoided, those instances will follow our complete support.”

Presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah reiterated that his demands made on Wednesday are definite, stating that it is in line with the country’s law, on Thursday at a brief press conference in Kabul.

He asserted that the legitimacy of the election process is under question because the Independent Election Commission’s (IEC) Secretariat Zia-ul-Haq Amarkhail has not been suspended.  He added that on the day of elections, the police had caught Amarkhail with ballots and without police escorts, but the investigation of this case has not been followed.

Presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah on Wednesday announced at a press conference in Kabul that he has cut off ties with the election commissions and pulled his observers. He claimed President Hamid Karzai has not been neutral in the election process and demanded a freeze on vote counting.

The Free and Fair Election Forum of Afghanistan (FEFA) on Tuesday released its first report regarding the presidential elections.

”FEFA has noted more than 6,651 cases of violations on the Election Day," FEFA Head Nadir Naderi said.

According to the report, 396 polling centers faced a delayed opening, 368 witnessed shortage of ballot papers, 344 were closed later than scheduled, and 269 had problems with the quality of the ink. Moreover, there were campaign posters within 100 meters of 246 centers, despite the restrictions placed by the election law.

Speaking at a press conference in Kabul on Tuesday, Independent Election Commission (IEC) spokesman Noor Mohammad Noor said results sheets from 11 provinces have safely arrived at the commission's central office in the capital and the voting counting process is expected to start next Monday.

Results from Kabul, Panjshir, Parwan, Kapisa, Logar, Baghlan, Paktia, Kunar, Nangarhar, Laghman and Wardak provinces have been logged at the IEC's headquarters.

Election observers from the European Union (EU) and the Free and Fair Elections Foundation of Afghanistan (FEFA) held a joint press conference in Kabul on Monday where they released their preliminary reports on fraud in the presidential runoff election. 
 
While the EU delegation reported no fraud from the sites its monitors were located at on Saturday, the Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan (FEFA), one of the country's largest monitoring groups, said its observers documented a large amount of fraud across various regions.