Ashraf Ghani English news | Ashraf Ghani, Latest News & Live Updates in English | English News (Latest English News) at Lokmattimes.com

"Once electoral complaints have been adjudicated in accordance with the law, I urge the candidates and their supporters to accept the outcome," Xinhua news agency quoted Tadamichi Yamamoto, the UN secretary-general's Special Representative for Afghanistan, as saying on Monday."When the election is completed with credibility, it will become a milestone in the history of establishing a representative political system of the country," he told the Security Council.Yamamoto also called on all stakeholders to enable the electoral institutions to exercise their responsibilities in full, including by addressing all complaints through the appropriate legal and institutional channels.The Afghan presidential election was held as scheduled on September 28. Preliminary results, which were expected by October 19, are yet to be announced.The main contest is between President Ashraf Ghani, who is seeking a second term, and his Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah.The primary reason for the delay is to ensure that the electoral process is as transparent and credible as possible even at the sacrifice of time, explained Yamamoto, who is also leading the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.From a technical perspective, the presidential election this year has improved considerably on past polls in Afghanistan, with much greater transparency, he said.The use of biometric voter verification devices seemed largely effective in detecting and deterring fraud, and several new check mechanisms throughout the process have enabled the electoral management bodies to detect and eliminate multiple and fraudulent votes.Candidates and other political stakeholders have had far greater access to information than in previous elections, he said.Nevertheless, this electoral process has not been without problems, said Yamamoto.Some candidates and their supporters have expressed concerns regarding the technical aspects of the process and the lack of public information.There have been numerous exchanges between the electoral management bodies and candidates both orally and in writing. This process entailed the blockage of audit and recount in seven provinces by supporters of some candidates.The blockage added to the delay in the announcement of preliminary results.However, the process finally resulted in the resumption of audit and recount in the remaining seven provinces on Sunday."Now we are expecting to hear the preliminary results soon," Yamamoto added.( With inputs from IANS )

Ashraf GhaniFOLLOW

Ashraf ghani, Latest News

The US has decided to reduce assistance to Afghanistan by $1 billion this year due to the Afghan leadership's failure to form an inclusive government, the Stat Department announced. ...

US peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad has confirmed that the Afghan government and the Taliban held a meeting over the prisoner release issue and peace process in an effort to come to a decision soon amid the coronavirus pandemic. ...

The Afghan government announced that it has considered releasing a number of inmates in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus in the country. ...

Zalmay Khalilzad, the US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, said the Washington would like the Afghan government to begin the process of releasing Taliban prisoners as soon as possible in line with the historic peace agreement. ...

Afghstan President Ashraf Gh on Thursday thanked the Indian government for a congratulatory message on his victory in the presidential election. ...

Afghanistan is trying to set up its own Aadhaar a biometric and demographic database of its residents on the same pattern as India developed a decade ago. ...

The Afghan government will disclose a list of delegates for the peace negotiating team once the US and the Taliban finalize their peace deal, the Presidential Palace here said, amid rumours that the militant group has agreed on a short-term ceasefire ...

A top UN envoy has asked the Afghan presidential candidates and their supporters to accept the outcome of the September 28 election once it was announced. ...