Afghan poll crisis deepens as Abdullah rejects official results and claims victory

Former mujahideen doctor Abdullah Abdullah has claimed victory in Afghanistan's elections, rejecting official results that put him a million votes shy of his rival and deepening the crisis over who will succeed Hamid Karzai as president.

Abdullah on Tuesday told thousands of supporters that he would sacrifice his own life to throw out "fraudulent results", although he stopped just short of announcing a parallel government after stern warnings from Washington that any unilateral move could mean a halt in aid.

"There is no doubt we are the winners of this election. We will not let a fake government take power for even one day," he told the rally in a cavernous hall in the capital, Kabul. He asked for time to untangle the crisis, but hinted at plans to unveil his own cabinet, saying: "The people are waiting for the announcement of our government."

Before he arrived angry supporters tore and destroyed down a giant poster of Karzai, who Abdullah claimed helped election opponent Ashraf Ghani cheat his way to victory. Abdullah condemned the vandalism.

Election authorities on Monday released delayed results from the runoff on 14 June, putting Ghani ahead with 56% of the vote. But election commission's chairman, Ahmad Yusuf Nuristani, also warned that there was not yet a winner, as millions of votes still had to be audited for fraud.

The two candidates have agreed on an audit of results from about 7,000 polling sites that triggered fraud concerns, including places with unusual ratios of male and female voters, and ones where almost all the ballots provided were used.

Abdullah had officially withdrawn from the vote counting process shortly after polling day, and had demanded a hold on the results announcement. He claimed that up to 2m ballots cast for Ghani were fraudulent and wanted full checks before any figures were made public.

His spokesman was quick to describe the release of the preliminary figures as a "coup", and within hours one of Abdullah's most powerful backers, the governor of Balkh province, Atta Mohammad Noor, warned of "widespread civil unrest".

Ghani dismissed concerns that Afghanistan's stability was at risk, saying he respected his rival as a "national figure", and hinting at the possibility of a unity government.

"Talk of parallel governments will remain at the level of talk, because of the historic responsibility that his excellency Dr Abdullah and I … have to ensure the stability of this country," he told reporters, after confirming he fully backed a wider audit of the results.

"We do not have preconditions for political discussions because we must engage in finding solutions... to ensure the legitimacy of the process, its fairness and the acceptance of its results."

Ghani appears to be softening his stance on giving Abdullah a stake in government, in the face of the fast-growing crisis. He had previously insisted that were he to be declared winner, his election rival would have to concede defeat before any discussion of jobs could begin.

The international community have responded cautiously to the results, with both the US and the UN calling on election authorities to move ahead swiftly with plans to audit another 3m of the 8m votes cast – an unexpectedly high turnout.

The US secretary of state, John Kerry, also issued a stern warning against resorting to violence, threats of violence, or abandoning the messy democratic process.

"I have noted reports of protests in Afghanistan and of suggestions of a parallel government with the gravest concern," Kerry said, calling on the Afghan security forces to stay neutral. "Any action to take power by extra-legal means will cost Afghanistan the financial and security support of the United States and the international community."

If the current standoff can be resolved, the new president should be inaugurated on 2 August in Afghanistan's first ever democratic transfer of power. Any delays will likely strain an economy already undermined by political uncertainty and escalate security concerns as the last Nato combat troops head home.