Afghanistan’s incumbent President Ashraf Ghani won a slim majority of votes in a Sept. 28 election, delayed preliminary results showed on Sunday, after a poll that plunged the country into political crisis and was marred by allegations of fraud.
The Independent Election Commission said the total turnout in the presidential election was more than 1.8 million with Ghani securing 50.64% - enough to win the first round of voting - beating his main challenger, Abdullah Abdullah, who currently shares power with Ghani in a unity government.
In a television speech on Sunday, Ghani welcomed the result and said the country was now on the right path towards prosperity and development.
“With the announcement, we are moving now from darkness to light and from uncertainty to a bright future,” Ghani told a jubilant crowd gathered at the presidential palace in Kabul.
The head of IEC, Hawa Alam Nuristani, told a news conference in Kabul earlier that the outcome could change after final results and was still subject to a review by the election complaints’ commission.
If a review showed Ghani’s vote falling below 50% and no other candidate with a majority, a second round of voting would be held, she said.
According to the tally released by the IEC on Sunday, the total turnout was 1,824,401 with Ghani winning 923,868 votes and Abdullah finished second with 39.5% and 720,099 votes.
The United States, Afghanistan’s biggest donor, reacted cautiously to the result.
“It is important for Afghans to remember: these results are preliminary. Many steps remain before final election results are certified, to ensure the Afghan people have confidence in the results,” John Bass U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan said in a post on Twitter.
Abdullah’s office said in a statement that he did not accept the preliminary results and that the commission had failed to tackle election fraud.
“The result that stands is based on fraud and without considering our legitimate demands, will never be accepted,” the statement said.
(Courtesy - Reuters)
Add new comment