On Sunday 22nd December, the Independent Election Commission (IEC) announced that Ashraf Ghani was leading the election race with a marginal 50.64 percent of the vote in the September 28 poll. The results, originally scheduled to be announced on October 19, have been repeatedly delayed with IEC officials citing technical issues, allegations of fraud and protests from candidates.
Ghani is much ahead of Abdullah Abdullah (39.52 percent) and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar (3.85 percent) of the 1.9 million votes.
If it holds, the result is enough for Mr. Ghani to avoid a run-off. Candidates now have three days to file any complaints they may have before final results are announced, probably within a few weeks.
As soon as results were announced, Abdullah claimed fraud in the election. Chief Executive Abdullah's team, leader of Hezb-i-Islami Hekmatyar and a member of candidate Rahmatullah Nabil's campaign also said that they would challenge the results.
"We would like to make it clear once again to our people, supporters, election commission and our international allies that our team will not accept the result of this fraudulent vote unless our legitimate demands are addressed," the statement read.
Mr. Abdullah lost to Mr. Ghani in 2014 in a divisive election that saw the U.S. intervene to broker an awkward power-sharing deal between the two rivals.
U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan John Bass said it was vital the full electoral process plays out. The preliminary results come amid year-long peace negotiations between the Taliban and the United States that could see American troops withdraw from Afghanistan.
