KABUL, Afghanistan, Aug. 19 (UPI) -- Regardless of the victors in Thursday's elections in Afghanistan, all parties should move the country forward in the spirit of solidarity, U.N. officials say.
Afghans head to the polls Thursday to vote for provincial council leaders and for their next president. President Hamid Karzai leads over his closest rival former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, though the incumbent lacks a clear majority in the latest polls.
Kai Eide, the U.N. special envoy to Afghanistan, said it is important for Afghan leaders to come together after the election to reach a broad consensus on key national challenges, the Pajhwok Afghan News agency reports.
"After the elections end, the political personalities of the country should come together and reflect the maturity which they showed during the election campaign," he said.
Human-rights officials and international observers have raised the issue of credibility amid violent attacks on the capital Wednesday and allegations of vote tampering. Eide discounted the claims, saying election officials had anticipated a tough climate.
"I do believe in the credibility of these elections," he said. "We have been preparing for a more difficult security situation and that has also been at the basis for the work that has gone on over the last few weeks and months."
Afghan election officials say at least 10 percent of the polling centers were unlikely to open, however.
