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2019 Afghan presidential election

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2019 Afghan presidential election
← 2014 28 September 2019
 
Nominee Ashraf Ghani Abdullah Abdullah
Party Independent National Coalition
Running mate Amrullah Saleh
Sarwar Danish[1][2] 		Enayatullah Babur Farahmand
Asadullah Sadati[1][2]
Popular vote 923,592 720,841
Percentage 50.64% 39.52%
Results by province
President before election

Ashraf Ghani
Independent

Elected President

Ashraf Ghani
Independent

Politics of Afghanistan
Constitution
Government
Judiciary
Law enforcement
Administrative divisions
Elections
Foreign relations
flag Afghanistan portal

Presidential elections were held in Afghanistan on 28 September 2019.[3] 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.[4] Abdullah Abdullah rejected the results and moved to set up his own parallel government and separate inauguration.[5] However, Ghani was officially sworn in for a second term on 9 March 2020.[6][7] 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.[8] Voter turnout was less than 20%.[9]

Background

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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,[10][11] 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.[12]

Electoral system

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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.[13]

Campaign

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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.[14] 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.[15]

Voting

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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.[16] 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.[17] Al Jazeera also noted that in spite of the low voter turnout, violence was only "sporadic."[13] 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."[18] Reports of low casualties were also backed by The Washington Post and Arab News.[19][20] 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."[19] Salahuddin also stated that "at some polling centers, security forces outnumbered voters."[19]

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.[21]

Violence, Taliban threats, and widespread allegations of mismanagement and abuse marred the election. Turnout on election day was low.[22]

Candidates

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There were 18 presidential candidates:[23][24]

Name Party affiliation Notes
Ashraf Ghani Incumbent President
Abdullah Abdullah National Coalition of Afghanistan Incumbent Chief Executive
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin Former Prime Minister, former warlord, and current leader of Hezb-e Islami
Rahmatullah Nabil Former Head of the National Directorate of Security
Sayed Noorullah Jalili Wealthy businessman[25]
Faramarz Tamanna Former Director General of the Center for Strategic Studies (Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
Shaida Mohammad Abdali Ambassador to India
Ahmad Wali Massoud
Noor Rahman Liwal IT expert and businessman[26]
Mohammad Shohab Hakimi
Mohammad Hakim Tursun
Abdul Latif Pedram Member of the Parliament
Nur ul-Haq Ulumi National United Party of Afghanistan Former Minister of Interior
Mohammad Ibrahim Alokozai
Enayatullah Hafiz
Mohammad Hanif Atmar Truth and Justice Former National Security Adviser and Minister of Interior (campaign suspended)
Ghulam Faruq Nejrabi
Zalmai Rassoul Former Minister of Foreign Affairs (campaign suspended, supporting Ashraf Ghani)[27]

Opinion polls

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

Pollster Date(s) administered Sample Ghani Abdullah Hekmatyar Tamana Nabil Pedram Hanif Atmar Other Undecided Lead
Ind NCA Ind Ind Ind Ind Ind
OSRA 5 August–28 September 2019 11,337 40.9% 7.0% 0.6% 0.7% 0.6% – – 1.5% 20.4% 33.9%
OSRA 30 March–25 May 2019 2,405 35.1% 5.8% 2.5% – – 1.2% 3.3% 3.0% 43.3% 29.3%
Preliminary results[28] 22 Dec 2019 1,824,401 50.6% 39.5% 3.9% 1.0% 1.9% 0.7% 0.1%

Results

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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.[29] 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.[29]

On 13 November, the commission announced that the results were being delayed a second time, indefinitely.[30]

The preliminary results were announced on 22 December,[31] and the definitive ones on 18 February 2020.

CandidatePartyVotes%
Ashraf GhaniIndependent923,59250.64
Abdullah AbdullahNational Coalition720,84139.52
Gulbuddin HekmatyarHezb-e Islami Gulbuddin70,2413.85
Rahmatullah NabilIndependent33,9191.86
Faramarz TamannaIndependent18,0630.99
Sayed Noorullah JaliliIndependent15,5190.85
Abdul Latif PedramNational Congress Party12,6080.69
Enayatullah HafizIndependent11,3750.62
Mohammad Hakim TorsanIndependent6,5000.36
Ahmad Wali MassoudIndependent3,9420.22
Mohammad Shahab HakimiIndependent3,3180.18
Ghulam Farooq NajrabiIndependent1,6080.09
Mohammad Hanif AtmarTruth and Justice1,5670.09
Noor Rahman LewalIndependent8550.05
Total1,823,948100.00
Registered voters/turnout9,665,74518.87
Source: IEC

By province

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Province Ghani Abdullah Total
votes
Votes % Votes %
Badakhshan 15,234 21.72 39,246 55.96 70,126
Baghis 2,374 24.56 6,209 64.24 9,664
Baghlan 5,828 19.26 21,001 69.43 30,245
Balkh 24,073 33.27 40,078 55.39 72,345
Bamyan 15,021 18.21 55,795 67.66 82,452
Daykundi 29,742 30.29 62,521 63.68 98,170
Farah 3,552 78.22 539 11.86 4,541
Faryab 5,090 19.38 20,274 77.22 26,252
Ghazni 19,258 37.09 26,946 51.90 51,922
Ghor 21,553 44.40 19,849 40.89 48,540
Helmand 30,784 81.35 4,876 12.89 37,841
Herat 34,199 29.43 56,117 48.29 116,210
Jowzjan 7,305 19.37 29,006 76.92 37,710
Kabul 166,617 47.73 141,882 40.64 349,082
Kandahar 59,548 86.91 3,728 5.44 68,514
Kapisa 4,599 32.58 7,089 50.23 14,114
Khost 75,109 96.46 787 1.01 77,866
Kunar 54,907 85.52 5,072 7.90 64,205
Kunduz 3,636 28.68 8,074 63.70 12,676
Laghman 22,769 87.81 469 1.81 25,930
Logar 13,344 94.00 503 3.54 14,196
Nangarhar 188,520 92.22 4,952 2.42 204,429
Nimruz 7,186 73.32 1,482 15.12 9,801
Nuristan 6,290 57.87 3,516 32.35 10,869
Paktia 35,657 92.89 1,643 4.28 38,386
Paktika 29,499 93.61 828 2.63 31,512
Panjshir 2,079 11.30 15,343 83.41 18,393
Parwan 7,783 23.44 20,448 61.57 33,211
Samangan 7,123 19.05 28,392 75.93 37,393
Sar-e Pol 6,154 17.99 26,325 76.97 34,203
Takhar 8,582 13.88 49,514 80.08 61,832
Uruzgan 3,518 64.74 936 17.22 5,434
Wardak 1,279 6.43 17,139 86.12 19,901
Zabul 5,380 89.92 262 4.38 5,983
Total 923,592 50.64 720,841 39.52 1,823,948
Source: IEC Archived 28 March 2020 at the Wayback Machine

Aftermath

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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.[32] On 22 February Abdullah appointed a new governor loyal to himself in Sar-e Pol Province.[33] 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.[6][7] Shortly afterwards, Ghani abolished the office of Chief Executive,[34] held by Abdullah, and Abdullah issued a statement saying that "Ghani is no longer president," and his decrees were invalid.[35]

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.[36] The political crisis was brought to an end on 17 May 2020, when Ghani and Abdullah signed a power-sharing deal.[8]

On 15 August 2021, Ashraf 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

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  1. ^ a b "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. ^ a b 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. ^ a b "Amid Controversy, Ghani Takes Oath of Office". TOLOnews. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  7. ^ a b Qazi, Shereena. "Ghani sworn in as Afghan president, rival holds own inauguration". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  8. ^ a b "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. ^ a b "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. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b "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.
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