Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty February 19, 2020 The long-awaited result of Afghanistan’s bitterly disputed presidential election was expected to end months of uncertainty. Instead, President Ashraf Ghani’s reelection has triggered a political crisis that has threatened to spill over into violence and derail a historic peace deal between the United States and the Taliban.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty February 19, 2020 KABUL– Afghan Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum has called on his supporters to take to the streets to protest the reelection of President Ashraf Ghani. But reports from across Afghanistan say that, despite Dostum’s rallying cry, there was little sign of major protests or celebrations by Afghans weary
Ayesha Tanzeem VOA News February 18, 2020 ISLAMABAD – Five months after Afghanistan’s presidential election, the country’s top electoral body Tuesday declared incumbent President Ashraf Ghani a winner for a second term while his top rival Abdullah Abdullah’s team called the decision “illegal.” The Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan said Ghani won 50.6 percent of
Tolo News: The Independent Election Commission (IEC) has started the audit of disputed votes and will announce the final results of the September presidential elections within the next two days, the deputy of the commission said. The process was delayed for three days because of a protest from Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah’s campaign team. Click
Tolo News: First Vice President Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum has threatened to form a “parallel government” under the leadership of Abdullah Abdullah, the chief executive of the National Unity Government, if the election commission “announces fraudulent results of the presidential elections,” which were held on September 28, 2019. Speaking at a gathering in the northern
Tolo News: Presidential Palace pictures of President Ghani’s meetings show his running mate Amrullah Saleh sitting next to him, which adds fuel to speculation among critics of the Ghani administration that Saleh is performing government duties unofficially. Saleh, who is running as Ghani’s first vice president, has also been referred to as a high-ranking official
Tolo News: A group of politicians and senior members of Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah’s campaign team at a gathering in Kabul on Sunday criticized the Presidential Palace for “impeding” the peace process by introducing new conditions for a potential peace agreement. Abdullah argued that instead of imposing more conditions, all offered opportunities should be taken advantage
Tolo News: Prominent political figures on Saturday gathered in Kabul to discuss the participation of all the country’s political factions in the peace process. Speaking on the occasion, Chief Executive Abdullah said that no one should strive to obstruct the peace process for his personal agenda and should instead work on creating a consensus on the
1TV: Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah and former president Hamid Karzai have no plans for Afghanistan’s future, President Ashraf Ghani said on Wednesday. “Sour grapes. Did President Karzai achieve a ceasefire? I did. Did President Karzai offer an unconditional offer to the Taliban? I did. Who is approving in the public opinion polls that they would trust
Tolo News: Some of Afghanistan’s mainstream political leaders and former mujahideen figures on Thursday vowed to defy the establishment of a government arising from “electoral fraud.” Among the main critics was CE Abdullah Abdullah, who reiterated that he will always defend the valid votes of the Afghan people. Click here to read more (external link). Related