KABUL, Afghanistan: Afghanistan's president won a second term, earning 50.6% of a preliminary vote count, but his opponents can still challenge result, according to an announcement by the country's election commission Sunday.
Results for the Sept. 28 presidential polls have been repeatedly delayed amid accusations of misconduct and technical problems with counting ballots.
Ashraf Ghani's appears to have beaten out his main challenger Abdullah Abdullah, who serves as the country’s chief executive in a fragile national unity government.
Hawa Alam Nuristani, head of the Independent Election Commission, made the announcement at a press conference in the capital, Kabul.
Abdullah agreed earlier in December to allow a ballot recount in provinces where his supporters had stopped the process for over a month.
The Afghan Election Commission had tried to launch a ballot recount in November but Abdullah halted the attempt, saying he wouldn’t let his observers participate.
Thousands of Abdullah’s supporters rallied in November in the capital against what they said was the presence of faked ballots amid a controversial recount that seemed set to favor Ghani.
The Unity Government between Ghani and Abdullah was cobbled together by the United States after Afghanistan's controversial 2014 presidential election. Because of accusations of widespread fraud, no results were announced, and the two leading contenders, Ghnai and Abdullah, agreed to share power.
The partnership has been fraught with bickering and rifts.
If the preliminary results hold and Ghani remains president it will give him the authority he has been seeking to demand a leading role in peace talks with the Taliban.
Until now he and his government have been sidelined over the last year of direct talks between the U.S. and the Taliban. Washington seeks to withdraw its troops and bring to an end its longest war, ending 18 years of fighting in Afghanistan.
It's not clear how the Taliban will respond to Ghani's win. Ghani has been demanding a cease fire before engaging in talks, something the Taliban have steadfastly refused.
The Taliban currently control or hold sway over half the country.
