China News Agency, Beijing, March 9th-Kabul news: Ashraf Ghani, re-elected as Afghan president, and his rival, Abdullah Abdullah, chief executive of the government, failed to reach agreement on election results Separate ceremonies were held on the 9th, each sworn in as new presidents.
The Afghan presidential election was held on September 28 last year. The Independent Electoral Commission announced the results of the preliminary vote count on December 22 of that year, and the final results were announced on February 18 this year. The results showed that Ghani was elected with 50.64% of the votes, and Abdullah received 39.52% of the votes. However, Abdullah refused to acknowledge the result, arguing that the elections were fraudulent, and he announced that he would begin to form an inclusive government.
The deadlock between the two sides has not been eased. In order to ensure the implementation of the peace agreement with the Taliban, the United States has used its good offices, but ultimately failed because the two sides did not want to decentralize and co-govern again.
According to Reuters, Ghani was sworn in at the presidential palace in the capital Kabul on the 9th. Several foreign envoys, including Zalme Khalilzad, the US special envoy for Afghanistan, attended Ghani's inauguration ceremony. At the same time, Abdullah held an inauguration ceremony at his office.
The Associated Press said that the national television station broadcast Ghani's inauguration ceremony to show support for Ghani. Austin Miller, commander of the U.S. Army in Afghanistan, and Tadashi Yamamoto, special representative of the UN Secretary-General for Afghanistan, also attended the inauguration ceremony of Ghani.
The fact that the two presidents were sworn in at the same time will not only further deepen the division of Arab politics, but also add uncertainty to the upcoming dialogue between the Arab government and the Taliban.
On February 29, the US government and the Taliban signed a peace agreement. According to the agreement, the Taliban will hold a dialogue with the Arab parties from March 10. Before the dialogue, the Afghan government will release about 5,000 Taliban detainees, and the Taliban will release about 1,000 Afghan government personnel.
However, who will represent the Afghan government in the dialogue has become an urgent issue.
A Taliban spokesman told the Associated Press on the 9th that the Taliban will still fulfill their agreement and dialogue commitments. However, the current situation is not good for Afghanistan. He also emphasized that the replacement of prisoners must be completed on schedule.
In response to the current turmoil, former Deputy Foreign Minister Javed Ludin satirized the United States on social media: "Thanks to the United States once again for helping us resolve the political crisis. You must be bored, so are we Afghans." (End)