An inauguration of a President-elect was held in Afghanistan
The inauguration ceremony of Afghan President-elect Ashraf Ghani was held on Monday in Kabul, at the Arg Presidential Palace, and was broadcasted live on national television.
Mr. Ghani, who won the presidential election, took the oath of office and officially assumed the post of head of state.
The ceremony was attended by members of the Government and Parliament, representatives of the provinces. Among attendees were also the special representative of the UN Secretary General in Afghanistan Tadamichi Yamamoto, USA special representative Zalmay Khalilzad, NATO and USA commander in Afghanistan General Austin Scott Miller, the embassies’ employees of USA, Germany, Canada, India and Pakistan.
At the same time, at the capital’s Sapedor Palace, in the presence of several thousand supporters, the inauguration of Ghani’s rival in the election race, the current Prime Minister of Afghanistan, Abdullah Abdullah, who did not concede his defeat in the presidential election.
In mid-February, almost five months after the presidential election, the Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan summed up the final results of the September 28 election and declared Mr. Ghani the winner. According to the Commission, Mr. Ghani polled 50.64% of the votes, and Mr. Abdullah – 39.52%.
Mr. Abdullah’s team protested these results, declaring that the Commission illegally attributed more than 300 thousand votes to Mr. Ghani without biometrical confirmation.
According to representatives of the Taliban movement, holding parallel inaugurations in Afghanistan leads to the fact that the implementation of an inter-Afghan meeting is scarcely probable in the near future.
