The Independent Electoral Commission of Afghanistan announced today, Tuesday, that President Ashraf Ghani won a second term in the presidential elections held last year, nearly five months after the vote, adding that the candidate Abdullah Abdullah had a second solution.
"The election commission announces Mr. Ashraf Ghani, who won 50.64% of the votes as president of Afghanistan," commission chair Hawa Alam Nuristani told a news conference in Kabul.
"And may God help him to serve the Afghan people ... I also pray that peace will come to our country."
The issuance of the results was postponed for about five months after the head of the Executive Authority, Abdullah Abdullah, the opponent of Ghani Al-Abras, spoke about fraud, which required a recount.
Ghani's opponents say that the elections held on September 28 were marred by widespread fraud and faced technical problems, attacks and irregularities.
| Hawa Alam Nuristani: Ashraf Ghani won 50.64% (Reuters) |
Accusations of fraud
Abdullah's team confirmed earlier this week that it would not accept any fraudulent results. He also threatened Afghan Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum, Abdullah's ally, to form a parallel government in the event of the announcement of fraudulent results of the elections.
Abdullah also lost to Ghani in 2014 in a divisive election that saw the United States intervene to sponsor a strange agreement of its kind to share power between the two opponents.
In last year's elections, one million of 2.7 million votes were canceled due to irregularities, which means that the elections have seen the lowest participation rate in any polling in Afghanistan so far. The population of Afghanistan is 35 million, and the total registered voters is 9.6 million.
The delay put Afghanistan in a political crisis at a time when the United States is seeking to conclude an agreement with the Taliban that will lead to the withdrawal of American forces in exchange for several security guarantees, and pledged that the movement will hold peace talks with the Afghan government.
If all goes well, he is more likely to be the rich person who will negotiate with the Taliban in an effort to chart the future of Afghanistan.