DHAKA: Protesters gathered in the Afghan capital on Saturday in support of presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah’s accusation of vote fraud, and his call for the organisers to stop counting the ballots from the run-off election held a week ago.

Several hundred people gathered, disrupting traffic on the main road to the airport, as the police were deployed with batons and riot shields to counter any violence.

Tensions have been running high in Kabul since the run-off between Abdullah and his rival Ashraf Ghani, a former World Bank economist.

Abdullah says he no longer trusts the electoral bodies and blames them and interference by president Hamid Karzai for mass fraud. He wants the electoral bodies to halt counting votes and has invited the United Nations to intervene, reports The Straits Times.

BDST: 1935 HRS, JUNE 21, 2014