Afghanistan's Ghani wins slim majority in presidential vote preliminary results

Record ID: 1449825

  • Title: Afghanistan's Ghani wins slim majority in presidential vote preliminary results
  • Date: 22nd December 2019
  • Summary: Ghani hoped that the ceasefire with the Taliban will continue as the nation's Muslims celebrate Eid al-Fitr. The Afghan Taliban accepted the offer of Ghani and announced a surprise three-day ceasefire over the Muslim Eid holiday in the middle of June, their first offer of its kind, days after the government declared an unconditional ceasefire of its own. KABUL, AFGHANISTAN (FILE - JUNE 15, 2018) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF AFGHAN PRESIDENT ASHRAF GHANI REVIEWING HONOUR GUARDS DURING CEREMONY
  • Embargoed: 5th January 2020 10:03
  • Keywords: Ashraf Ghani preliminary results presidential election slim majority
  • Location: HERAT, KABUL, KUNDUZ, KHOJA GHAR, AFGHANISTAN / BRUSSELS, BELGIUM / LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM/ WASHINGTON D.C., U.S. / RAWALPINDI, ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN/ MUNICH, GERMANY / BISHKEK, KYRGYZSTAN
  • City: HERAT, KABUL, KUNDUZ, KHOJA GHAR, AFGHANISTAN / BRUSSELS, BELGIUM / LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM/ WASHINGTON D.C., U.S. / RAWALPINDI, ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN/ MUNICH, GERMANY / BISHKEK, KYRGYZSTAN
  • Country: Afghanistan
  • Reuters ID: LVA00FBB32NUV
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Afghanistan's incumbent President, Ashraf Ghani, won a slim majority of votes in a Sept. 28 election, delayed preliminary results showed on Sunday (December 22) in a poll that plunged the country into political uncertainty.
    The Independent Election Commission (IEC) said the total turnout in the presidential election, which was marred by allegations of massive fraud, was 1.9 million with Ghani securing 50.64%, enough to win the first round of voting.
    IEC head Hawa Alam Nuristani said in a press conference in Kabul that outcome could change after final results and was 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.
    Ghani's top challenger Abdullah Abdullah, who currently shares power with him in an awkward unity government, finished second with 39.52% of the vote, according to tally announced by the IEC.
    In a statement on Sunday, Abdullah's office said he did not accept the preliminary results and that the commission had failed to tackle election fraud.
    Last month, IEC began recounting thousands of votes due to what it described as discrepancies in its system. Abdullah's side objected to the recount and called it an attempt to add more votes in favour of Ghani. IEC dismissed those allegations.
    With 9.7 million registered voters, according to IEC, Afghanistan's 1.9 million voter turnout for the presidential election was low.
    (Production: Masako Iijima)
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