Afghan top prosecutor announces election misconduct investigation

Mohammad Ishaq Alako also said he had suspended the spokesmen for the nation's two main independent electoral bodies for making irresponsible comments to the media.

Alako alleged on Afghan television that the election was bought and sold by powerful, well-connected Afghans who keep their money in Dubai.

The attorney general's office is charged with investigating allegations of criminal activity in the election, but Alako's comments point to a full-scale investigation into the legitimacy of the entire process.

If Alako's statement, aired on Afghan television, is seen as throwing into question the decisions of election officials, it could cast doubt on the long-awaited results.

"The decision about the Afghan election has been made in Dubai and in Kabul's foreign exchange market," Alako said. "I have evidence and documents and I am going to investigate. If no one accepts my investigation, I will not come to my job again."

However, the head of the Independent Election Commission rejected Alako's allegations of wrongdoing, saying no one on the commission took part in any ‘secret deals’. He also called on the prosecutor to take his accusations to court instead of ‘parading them around in the media’.

"If anyone has acted wrongly they should not make accusations but use evidence to bring them to court," IEC Chairman Fazel Ahmad Manawi said. On allegations of secret dealings in Dubai, he said they were "not true."

Alako said he had suspended the spokesmen for the IEC, which organized the vote, and the Electoral Complaints Commission, which investigates allegations of fraud and misconduct. He said the men made "irresponsible comments to the media" about the election and about the attorney general's office.