Counting of Afghan votes put 'on hold'

"The JEMB (Joint Electoral Management Body) ordered the hold of counting," because of complaints about the vote by several candidates, JEMB spokesman Aykut Tavsel told AFP.

"The secretariat of the JEMB will wait for the order to commence the counting," he added, without predicting when that might be.

The process to reconcile the number of ballots with the number of people who voted was continuing, and some ballot boxes were still arriving at eight counting centres around the country, he said.

Earlier, a senior United Nations spokesman downplayed the delay.

Meanwhile, the United Nations will set up an international panel to probe irregularities in Afghanistan's elections, officials said, as intense negotiations were under way to reach a breakthrough agreement with protesting candidates.

The Afghan-UN Joint Electoral Management Body had "decided to request the UN to identify an impartial panel of international electoral experts to fully investigate these protests", vice-chairman Ray Kennedy told a news conference.