KABUL - An official from one of Afghanistan’s electoral bodies today reiterated his commitment to ensuring that legitimate votes would be separated from any fraudulent votes in last Saturday’s Presidential and Provincial Councils elections, while noting that fraud and electoral violations had taken place.

“Based on the documents and evidence which have reached us, we have to admit that fraud and electoral violations took place,” said the Chairman of the Independent Electoral Complaints Commission (IECC), Abdul Sattar Sadat, in a joint press conference with the Chairman of the Independent Election Commission (IEC), Ahmed Yusuf Nuristani, in Kabul.

“This is the duty of both Commissions: to safeguard the trust of the people with full honesty and transparency,” Mr. Sadat said. “We will not allow the enthusiasm which the Afghan people demonstrated on polling day to be maligned with fraud.”

The IECC Chairman said that the majority of the complaints registered with the IECC were against IEC staff, noting that some of that body’s staff members appeared to have failed to safeguard the ballots.

In a news release issued on Tuesday, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) urged the candidates in the country’s Presidential elections, as well as their supporters, to respect the work of the two national electoral institutions as vote counting is underway.

“I commend the IEC and the IECC on their preparations for the elections and the improved process on election day. Along with the security institutions, they provided the Afghan people with the opportunity to show their determination to vote,” said the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan and head of UNAMA, Ján Kubiš, in the news release.

“However, the process is not yet complete,” he added. “Votes must be counted, complaints resolved fairly and efficiently, and the two bodies must cooperate closely to release the results in a transparent and timely manner.”

UN officials have previously said that the elections, which also mark the first-ever transfer of power from one elected president to another in Afghanistan’s history, are critical to the country’s stability and continued international support.

In his remarks at today's news conference, Mr. Nuristani said that any IEC staff members found guilty of committing fraud in the elections would be presented to the prosecutors’ office.

He also called on the poll candidates to refrain from releasing premature election results that could confuse people.

“Results proclaimed by any of the candidates would not be authentic,” he said, adding that the IEC would announce the initial results on 24 April and the final results on the 14 May.

In response to a question about the number of ballot papers printed and used, the IEC Chairman said that 14.5 million ballots papers had been printed, half of which were used on the polling day and the rest kept in warehouses.

In response to another question, this one the shortage of ballot papers in some polling stations, the IECC Chairman said that complaints have been received on the issue and his organization was investigating the matter.

Both Chairmen described Saturday’s elections as an historic achievement and praised Afghans for their participation despite security threats and weather hazards, in addition to praising the country’s security forces for helping ensure voters’ safety and the media for helping raise awareness about electoral process.