Afghan presidential contender Abdullah Abdullah has claimed victory in last month's poll, despite rival Ashraf Ghani leading him in polls.

Addressing supporters in Kabul, Mr Abdullah repeated claims that the election process was marred by fraud.

US Secretary of State John Kerry had earlier warned against a power grab, amid reports that Mr Abdullah was planning a "parallel government".

People at the venue in Kabul where Abdullah Abdullah spoke to his supporters were angry. A crowd tore down a poster of outgoing President Hamid Karzai chanting: "Death to Karzai. Long Live Abdullah!"

They condemn election results,  asserting that massive fraud has happened while President Karzai, the election commission and Ashraf Ghani stood by.

So the Abdullah camp have decided to take things into their own hands and he appears to have some support. Several influential figures - governors, district leaders, mayors, and warlords - have come out in his favour. But Afghanistan is a divided country - Mr Ghani and Mr Abdullah both command a lot of support.


Mr Abdullah told the gathering in Kabul that he would never "accept a fraudulent government".

"We are the winners of this round of elections, without any doubt," he said, to cheers from the crowd.

However, he stopped short of declaring a parallel government as his supporters had earlier suggested he might. Instead, he called for a unified country.

"We don't want civil war, we don't want a crisis," he said. "We want stability, national unity, not division."