Ashraf Ghani declared winner of Afghan presidential poll

Published February 18, 2020
If all goes well, then Ashraf Ghani is likely to be the man sitting across from the Taliban at the negotiating table in a bid to chart Afghanistan's future.  — AP
If all goes well, then Ashraf Ghani is likely to be the man sitting across from the Taliban at the negotiating table in a bid to chart Afghanistan's future. — AP

Ashraf Ghani has secured a second term as president of Afghanistan, according to final results of the September 28, 2019 poll released on Tuesday by the country's election commission.

“The election commission [...] declares Mr Ashraf Ghani, who has won 50.64 per cent of the votes, as the president of Afghanistan,” election commission chief Hawa Alam Nuristani told a press conference in Kabul.

“May God help him in serving the people of Afghanistan [...] I also pray that peace comes to our country,” she added.

The results had been delayed for nearly five months after allegations of vote rigging from Ghani's main rival, Afghanistan's Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, forced a recount.

The delay left Afghanistan facing a political crisis just as the US seeks a deal with the Taliban which would allow it to withdraw troops in return for various security guarantees and a promise that the militants would hold peace talks with the Afghan government.

If all goes well, then Ghani is likely to be the man sitting across from the Taliban at the negotiating table in a bid to chart Afghanistan's future.

Earlier this week, Abdullah's team said they would not accept fraudulent results.

Current Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum, a powerful Uzbek former warlord and Abdullah's ally, has also threatened to form a parallel government if fraudulent election results are announced.

Abdullah lost to Ghani in 2014 in a divisive election that saw the US intervene to broker an awkward power-sharing deal between the two rivals.

Nearly one million of the initial 2.7 million votes were purged owing to irregularities, meaning the election saw by far the lowest turnout of any Afghan poll.

Ultimately, only 1.8 million votes were counted — a tiny number given Afghanistan's estimated population of 35 million and 9.6 million registered voters.

Opinion

Editorial

Agriculture concerns
24 Jun, 2025

Agriculture concerns

PRIME Minister Shehbaz Sharif appears relieved that the IMF did not turn down Pakistan’s request to exempt...
OIC reaction
24 Jun, 2025

OIC reaction

THE OIC has, over the decades, been known to issue strong statements and not do much else when it comes to critical...
NEVs, but for whom?
24 Jun, 2025

NEVs, but for whom?

THE government’s policy gymnastics following Pakistan’s unexpectedly rapid adoption of rooftop solar have ...
US aggression
Updated 23 Jun, 2025

US aggression

If there is any state in the world that the international community must be concerned about harbouring weapons of mass destruction, it is Israel.
Finishing the job
23 Jun, 2025

Finishing the job

THE federal health minister’s assertion of a 99pc reduction in polio cases in Pakistan, while impressive on the...
Exam leaks
23 Jun, 2025

Exam leaks

FOR students who put in countless hours of hard work for their secondary school exams — mainly to secure admission...