OSCE: Calls to invalidate Afghanistan elections 'not justified'

SOFIA, Oct 11 (AFP) - The president of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Bulgarian Foreign Minister Solomon Passy, on Monday said calls to annul the elections in Afghanistan were unjustified.
"The OSCE's committee for support of the voting process views the demands for invalidation of the vote as unjustified and calls upon the candidates to accept a proposal by the Joint Electoral Management Body to thoroughly investigate any irregularities," Passy said in a statement.
Vote counting in Afghanistan's first presidential elections was put on hold Monday after opposition candidates called the vote fraudulent because ink meant to stain voters' fingers to prevent multiple ballots was rubbing off.
The Joint Electoral Management Body, which consists of UN and Afghan officials, is preparing to investigate complaints of multiple voting and other irregularities.
The United Nations has been asked to set up an international investigative panel to probe alleged irregularities in Afghanistan's elections, the election management body said Monday.