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Friday, July 11, 2014

Kerry urges Afghanistan to focus on audit to resolve disputed vote

U.S. Secretary of State Kerry shakes hands with Afghanistan's presidential candidate Ghani at the start of a meeting at the U.S. embassy in Kabul By Lesley Wroughton KABUL (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told Afghanistan on Friday its transition to a self-reliant state hung in the balance after a contested presidential election, urging officials to focus on investigating all fraud allegations to prove its legitimacy. The deadlock over the vote has quashed hopes for a smooth transition of power in Afghanistan, a concern for Washington as most U.S.-led forces withdraw from the nation this year. Kerry rushed to Kabul from meetings in China on Friday in a hastily arranged visit for talks with the two presidential contenders, Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani, as well as incumbent Hamid Karzai and other senior officials. "The election legitimacy hangs in the balance, the future potential of the transition hangs in the balance, so we have a lot to do," Kerry said after a meeting with U.N. special envoy to Afghanistan Jan Kubis.




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