KABUL - Afghanistan's incumbent President,
Ashraf Ghani, won a slim majority of votes in a September 28
election, delayed preliminary results showed on Sunday, 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.
"The result that stands is based on fraud and without
considering our legitimate demands, will never be accepted," the
statement said.
With 9.7 million registered voters, according to IEC,
Afghanistan's 1.9 million voter turnout for the presidential
election was low.
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.
In protest, Abdullah's supporters blocked IEC offices in
seven northern provinces to prevent the recount, creating delays
in the results announcement.
Last week, Abdullah allowed the recount but warned that he
would not accept a tainted result.
Despite the election being less violent than initially
feared, Afghanistan was plunged into a prolonged period of
political chaos with both Ghani's and Abdullah's camps claiming
victory before ballots had been tallied.
Many Afghans fear a deeply flawed vote combined with bitter
tensions between political and provincial actors could drive
war-weary Afghanistan into a deeper political instability.