[originaltext]W: Let me turn it on to the man who may end up the winner, Mr. As

W: Let me turn it on to the man who may end up the winner, Mr. Ashraf Ghani. What pressure, if any, are you trying to bring on him to ensure that whatever happens he tried to include Abdullah Abdullah, or Abdullah Abdullah’s people in any future government?
M: We’re not making any assumptions about who might be the winner or who might be the loser, and we think it’s premature for anybody to be doing so.(6)We’ve made clear to both candidates that two things need to happen. First of all there needs to be a robust and transparent process for determining the winner, and there’s still a good deal of work to be done there. And secondly, we believe that both candidates need to begin discussing the formation of a government that would have the support of all important components and elements within the country, a government of national unity that would ensure that all of the significant sectors of Afghan society feel included.
W: You’re saying it’s all a bit hasty to say whether one side or the other has won or lost. It is difficult, is it not, to see this result being overturned?(7)This is a flat margin of victory at the moment—56 percent to 44 percent. It would be extraordinary to see the result overturned in the space of a couple of weeks.
M: I think both candidates have agreed that there was extensive fraud in the electoral process. Both candidates have agreed that the suspect ballots need to be audited. They haven’t agreed on exactly how to go about that.(8)We believe it’s the responsibility of the electoral institutions to go ahead and conduct that kind of broad audit. Whether or not the candidates have agreed on every precise element of the process, they will have to do it. And we believe until they’ve done so, it’s premature to be coming to any judgments.
W: It is worrying though, isn’t it? I suppose it was all too predictable that democracy is an imperfect thing in Afghanistan and that undoubtedly there has been fraud. We’ve heard all sorts of reports that project there has been a measure of fraud, and whoever was going to lose in this election was going to say it’s been by unfair means.
M: I agree with you that Afghanistan is a relatively new democracy. The countries at this stage of democratic development often have difficulties of this sort, that there’s not a tradition of good losers in societies at this level of political development.(9)And in that sense, the problem we face is not unparalleled. There are other countries who have gone through similar difficulties. Nevertheless, the fact is that millions of Afghans went out and voted in the expectation that their vote would count, that numerous polls indicate that most Afghans are prepared to support either candidate as the victor, that most Afghans have said that they could accept the person they didn’t vote for winning the election if that was the result. So while the problems we face are not unparalleled, the Afghan voters expect something better.
W: James, I’m so grateful to you. I hugely appreciate you answering it and answering all the other questions as well.
M: Pleasure.
6. What does the interviewee think both candidates need to do?
7. What was the margin of victory at the time of the interview?
8. Who should be responsible for dealing with the fraud in the election?
9. What does the interviewee think of the problem in the Afghan election?
10. What is the interview mainly about?