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2019 Afghan presidential election

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Nominee Ashraf Ghani Abdullah Abdullah Party Independent National Coalition Running mate Amrullah Saleh Sarwar Danish Enayatullah Babur Farahmand Asadullah Sadati Popular vote 923,592 720,841 Percentage 50.64% 39.52%

Results by province Ghani:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      90-100% Abdullah:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%

President before election Ashraf Ghani Independent Elected President Ashraf Ghani Independent

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v t e

Presidential elections were held in Afghanistan on 28 September 2019. According to preliminary results, which runner-up Abdullah Abdullah appealed against, incumbent Ashraf Ghani was re-elected with 923,592 votes, 50.64% of the vote. After delays over disputed votes, Ghani was declared the winner in the final results on 18 February 2020. Abdullah Abdullah rejected the results and moved to set up his own parallel government and separate inauguration. However, Ghani was officially sworn in for a second term on 9 March 2020. The ensuing political crisis was not resolved until 16 May 2020, when Ghani and Abdullah signed a power-sharing deal in which Ghani would remain president and Abdullah would lead the peace talks with the Taliban when they start. Voter turnout was less than 20%.

Background

The elections were originally scheduled for 20 April, but the Independent Election Commission announced on 26 December 2018 that they would be postponed until 20 July, in order to resolve problems that became apparent during the October 2018 parliamentary elections. The additional time will be used to verify voter lists and train election workers on the new biometric identification system. On 20 March 2019, the IEC once again delayed the election, this time by two months from 20 July to 28 September. A spokesman blamed the delay on changes in election laws along with management and technical problems − the presidential vote then coincided with local council votes and delayed parliamentary elections in Ghazni Province.

Electoral system

Presidential elections in Afghanistan are conducted using a two-round system. If no candidate receives a majority of the vote in the first round, a second round is held featuring the top two candidates from the first round.

Campaign

One of the leading candidates, Mohammad Hanif Atmar, suspended his campaign in August 2019. Atmar's campaign said that the suspension was due to the poor security situation and the ongoing peace process. The Taliban carried out attacks to disrupt the campaign. On 17 September 2019, a suicide bomber attacked the campaign rally of President Ashraf Ghani, killing 26 people and wounding 42. Less than an hour later, the Taliban carried out another suicide bomb attack near the US Embassy and the Afghan Defense Ministry, killing 22 people and wounding around 38.

Voting

On 28 September 2019, several people headed to cast their vote despite the direct threats to the civilians from the Taliban. However, the turnout was a historical low, where only around 1.6 million showed up from the 9.7 million registered voters. Despite low turnout, voting during election day was described by Reuters as being held in a "relative calm" situation, with 3 deaths and 37 injuries occurring due to "small-scale" Taliban attacks. Al Jazeera also noted that in spite of the low voter turnout, violence was only "sporadic." However, a tally held by The New York Times, which was based on conversations with local officials, found a death toll of "at least 30 security personnel and 10 civilians", and a number of "at least 40 security forces and 150 civilians" injured—which, according to the Times, was "much higher than the official reports, but in line with the average daily toll of the country’s long-running war." Reports of low casualties were also backed by The Washington Post and Arab News. Arab News journalist Sayed Salahuddin even stated that "the death toll was lower than on previous election days" and that conversations with Afghan residents suggested that "there was less violence than at last year’s parliamentary election." Salahuddin also stated that "at some polling centers, security forces outnumbered voters."

The election commission also resorted to biometric voter verification machines for the first time, which took the fingerprints and picture of every voter and recorded the time they cast their ballot. The technical system was opted to combat the growing fraudulent instances during elections in Afghanistan.

Violence, Taliban threats, and widespread allegations of mismanagement and abuse marred the election. Turnout on election day was low.

Candidates

There were 18 presidential candidates:

Opinion polls

The 2019 presidential election was the first in Afghanistan where opinion polls were funded and conducted by Afghan institutions.

Results

On 27 October 2019 Hawa Alam Nuristani, chief of the Independent Election Commission (IEC), announced that the preliminary presidential election results would be made public on 14 November, and that consultations with the other election commissioners which were taken to make the results more transparent had been completed. She also stated that the publication of the election results was delayed for two reasons: an attempt to hack the commission's server and the picking of the digital lock of the commission's digital center.

On 13 November, the commission announced that the results were being delayed a second time, indefinitely.

The preliminary results were announced on 22 December, and the definitive ones on 18 February 2020.

By province

Aftermath

The announcement of the results triggered a political crisis. Abdullah Abdullah rejected the results and called for the formation of a parallel government in northern Afghanistan. On 22 February Abdullah appointed a new governor loyal to himself in Sar-e Pol Province. American diplomat Zalmay Khalilzad attempted to mediate between Ghani and Abdullah, but the two were unable to reach an agreement and both of them took the presidential oath of office at separate inauguration ceremonies on 9 March, with Ghani being sworn in for a second term. Shortly afterwards, Ghani abolished the office of Chief Executive, held by Abdullah, and Abdullah issued a statement saying that "Ghani is no longer president," and his decrees were invalid.

On 23 March 2020 the United States announced that as a result of the political crisis it would reduce aid to Afghanistan by $1 billion. If Ghani and Abdullah do not reach an agreement, it may reduce aid further. The political crisis was brought to an end on 17 May 2020, when Ghani and Abdullah signed a power-sharing deal.

On 15 August 2021 Ghani's presidency came to an end after Taliban entered Kabul during the 2021 Taliban offensive and Ghani fled Afghanistan. Vice President Amrullah Saleh declared himself transitional president in Bazarak, capital of Panjshir Province and the last region under government control, however, he was forced to leave after Panjshir was captured altogether by the Taliban on 8 September.

References

1. ^ "Afghan election: Tense wait after day of attacks". BBC News. 29 September 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2020.https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-49794057
2. ^ Akhgar, Tameem; Gannon, Kathy (28 September 2019). "Top 5 Afghan presidential candidates in Saturday's election". Associated Press. Retrieved 23 April 2020.https://apnews.com/28bd4a495dca4e508c2eafc3ce62deb3
3. "Heavy security as Afghans elect president". BBC News. 28 September 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
4. Mashal, Mujib (18 February 2020). "After 5-Month Delay, Ashraf Ghani Is Named Winner of Afghan Election". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
5. "Afghanistan: Ghani, Abdullah set to hold parallel inaugurations". Al Jazeera. 8 March 2020. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
6. ^ "Amid Controversy, Ghani Takes Oath of Office". TOLOnews. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
7. ^ Qazi, Shereena. "Ghani sworn in as Afghan president, rival holds own inauguration". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
8. ^ "Rival Afghan leaders sign power-sharing deal". BBC News. 17 May 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
9. Afghanistan's Ghani claims narrow win in preliminary presidential vote results Reuters, 22 December 2019
10. Afghan presidential election delayed by three months BBC News, 26 December 2018
11. Afghan presidential elections postponed until July 20: official Al Jazeera, 30 December 2018
12. Najafizada, Eltaf. "Afghanistan Presidential Election Once Again Delayed by Two Months". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
13. ^ "Afghanistan presidential election: All the latest updates". Al Jazeera. 28 September 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
14. "A Leading Afghan Presidential Candidate Suspends Campaign". Voice of America. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
15. "Dozens killed by Taliban suicide bombings in Afghanistan". The Oxford Times. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
16. "Afghan Elections Witness Historical Low Turnout Amid Taliban Threats". Ask The Truth. Archived from the original on 29 September 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
17. Sediqi, Abdul Qadir; Jain, Rupam (28 September 2019). "Afghan presidential vote held in relative calm, but turnout low". Reuters. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
18. "Afghanistan Election Draws Low Turnout Amid Taliban Threats". The New York Times. 28 September 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
19. ^ Salahuddin, Sayed (28 September 2019). "Afghan voters defy Taliban attacks". Arab News. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
20. "Afghan presidential vote spared major violence, but turnout sharply lower". The Washington Post. 28 September 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
21. "Afghanistan turns to biometrics to tackle election fraud". E-Nigeria. Archived from the original on 29 September 2019. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
22. Kathy Gannon (29 September 2019), "Afghanistan faces possible political chaos after presidential election", Global News
23. Ali Yawar Adili (11 February 2019). "Afghanistan's 2019 elections (2): Who is running to become the next president?". Afghanistan Analysts Network. Archived from the original on 11 April 2019. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
24. Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan. "1398 Presidential Election Candidate List" (PDF). IEC AF. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 December 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
25. "Who's Who Among The Afghan Presidential Candidates". RFE/RL. 27 September 2019. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
26. "Noor Rahman Liwal's Official Website". Official Website.
27. Ali Yawar Adili; Thomas Ruttig (16 September 2019). "Afghanistan's 2019 Election (7): Dithering over peace amid a lacklustre campaign". Afghanistan Analysts Network. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
28. "Presidential Election Preliminary Results". Afghanistan 2019 Presidential Election. 22 December 2019. Archived from the original on 22 December 2019. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
29. ^ "IEC: Election Results to be Announced Nov. 14".
30. "Afghanistan's Presidential Poll Results Delayed Again". Voice of America. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
31. Pamela Constable (22 December 2019). "Afghanistan's Ghani wins slim majority in presidential vote, preliminary results show". The Washington Post. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
32. "Will the Ghani-Abdullah rivalry undermine Afghan peace process?". Retrieved 24 February 2020.
33. "Abdullah-Loyal Governor Installed in Sar-e-Pul". TOLOnews. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
34. "Ghani, By Decree, 'Abolishes' Chief Executive Office". TOLOnews. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
35. "'Ghani is No Longer President': Abdullah". TOLOnews. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
36. "US slashes aid to Afghanistan after Pompeo visit to Kabul". AP NEWS. 23 March 2020. Retrieved 29 March 2020.

v t e Elections in Afghanistan
Presidential elections	2004 2009 2014 2019
Parliamentary elections	1931 1934 1937 1940 1943 1946 1949 1952 1955 1958 1961 1965 1969 1988 2005 2010 2018
Constitutional Assemblies	1964 1977
Local elections	2005 2009 2014

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• 2019 elections in Asia
• Presidential elections in Afghanistan
• September 2019 events in Afghanistan