India urges Afghanistan to declare final general election results in ‘timely manner’

MEA Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar says India expects Afghanistan to address complaints related to preliminary results of September polls through prescribed legal processes.

File photo of Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani, who emerged victorious with a narrow majority | Commons

New Delhi: India has urged Afghanistan to announce the final results of its September general elections in a “timely manner” and also address the complaints that have come out following the declaration of the preliminary results through legally prescribed processes.

“We expect that the complaints would be addressed through the prescribed legal processes so that the final results are declared in a timely manner,” Raveesh Kumar, Spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), said Monday.

Kumar added that India hopes the Afghan leaders and other stakeholders will work together to further strengthen the “democratic polity”, besides fighting the serious  challenges of terrorism facing Afghanistan.

“India remains committed to work with the people and government of Afghanistan in its fight against terrorism and in its pursuit of socio-economic development,” he said.

Afghanistan Sunday announced the preliminary results of its general elections held on 28 September that gave President Ashraf Ghani a narrow majority.

Ghani won 50.64 per cent of the vote, while his rival Abdullah Abdullah, who is also Afghanistan’s Chief Executive, scored 39.52 per cent.

These results will now be analysed by the Independent Electoral Complaints Commission (IECC), which can take months to complete.

We want a pure govt, says Ghani

After the results were announced, Ghani said, “Some wanted an interim government. We are simple people — look at our clothes, at our words. We want a pure government, an Islamic republic government, and today a republic was ensured.”

Abdullah, however, rejected the results, calling the elections “fraudulent”.

“We would like to make it clear once again…that our team will not accept the result of this fraudulent vote unless our legitimate demands are addressed,” a statement from Abdullah’s team said Sunday.

The preliminary results were initially expected to be out in October, but later postponed to November.

Compared to the last general election held five years ago, this year’s voter turnout was the lowest. Out of a population of 37 million, there were only 9.6 million registered voters, out of which, only 1.82 million cast their votes.

Taliban to take advantage of the situation, say experts

Sources said the Afghan government made a mistake by going to the polls in a desperate manner even though the electoral reforms were not implemented properly.

“This was going to be a contested election as electoral reforms had not been fully implemented. There is going to be an election complaints procedure to be decided by the IECC and, thereafter, the final outcome will be decided. This will take months, particularly, if another round is to be held,” said Rakesh Sood, former Indian ambassador to Kabul.

In the meanwhile, according to experts, the US will wrap up the so-called peace talks with the Taliban in Qatar, which might weaken the position of the Ghani government further as it has already been sidelined in the US-Taliban talks that have been going for the past more than a year.

Sood said even though Ghani will continue to rule, his government will not be able to do much.

“Violence levels are likely to go up…India’s role has been marginalised in this process. All these do not augur well for India that wants a stable government there and that appears unlikely,” he added.

Amar Sinha, former MEA secretary and ex-Indian envoy to Afghanistan, said the Ghani government should focus on the credibility of the election process and make the system more robust.

“If there is an unstable neighbourhood then it definitely impacts India. There is a government and we support that government, but a stable Afghanistan is always in our interest because then there will not be any ungoverned spaces where the Taliban can run its training centres. That will then give Pakistan deniability that there are terror networks operating in its territory,” Sinha added.

After stalling the peace talks briefly, the US is once again back to the negotiating table with the Taliban and is likely to conclude the process soon. Following this, the Afghan government intends to begin an intra-Afghan dialogue with the Taliban, which is a key feature in Ghani’s proposed seven-point plan.

The plan includes the Afghan government speaking to the US, the Taliban, as well as Pakistan and other stakeholders.