WASHINGTON - As U.S. and Taliban aim for a ‘reduction in violence’ agreement scheduled to be signed by both sides before the end of the month, the main opposition party in Afghanistan threatened on Tuesday to form a parallel government following the announcement of the final election results, which gave the incumbent Ashraf Ghani another five-year term in office.
Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission (IEC) said Ghani secured 50.64% of the votes while his main rival, Abdullah Abdullah, secured 39.52%, declaring Ghani as the winner of the country’s fourth presidential election since 2001, when the U.S.-led coalition toppled the Taliban regime for harboring the al-Qaida terror group, who carried out the September 11 attack on the U.S.
Speaking to his supporters in Kabul, Ghani said it was time for the country to unite in peace.
“The moment has come for all to join forces and bring peace to every village, every street and every valley of this country. The time has come to join forces and rescue our country from poverty, discord and war,” Ghani told his supporters. “We want peace and enduring peace. It is a demand of this country. God willing we will bring peace to the entire country.”
Ghani’s main rival, Chief Executive Abdullah, who has shared power with Ghani since the 2014 presidential elections as part of the National Unity Government, rejected Tuesday’s results as “fraudulent” and vowed to announce the forming of his government soon.
“We are going to establish an inclusive government,” he told his supporters in Kabul.
“We do not accept the fraudulent results. We are announcing our victory. We will now form an inclusive government. We call on all our compatriots who believe in democracy & fairness to stand with us. God protect our country,” Abdullah added a in a tweet later.
The Taliban also rejected as "fraudulent" the presidential election and Ghani's "illegal" victory, charging the entire exercise was against the spirit of the ongoing peace process.
In a statement, the insurgent group said any elections under "foreign occupation" could never help settle the conflict in the country.
The news of a potential deal with the Taliban and subsequent intra-Afghan dialogue comes amid an ongoing political struggle between Ghani and Abdullah, which took a new turn with Tuesday’s final results of elections held in September 2019. The polls were postponed several times amid security threats and lack of preparedness by the country’s election commission.
Ghani and Abdullah shared power in the contested presidential elections of 2014 following months of a political crisis that almost took the country to the brink of civil war before the U.S. brokered a deal that helped create the National Unity Government (NUG). Both men vowed not to compromise this time around.
The political crisis stemming from the announcement of the final election results could derail the ongoing U.S. peace talks with the Taliban. U.S. officials say the talks are moving towards a deal in the next couple of days.
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According to U.S. officials, a successful implementation of the temporary reduction in violence would pave the way for a comprehensive peace deal that could end America’s longest war and bring home about 13,000 U.S. troops from Afghanistan.
The war in Afghanistan claimed the lives of more than 2,400 U.S. service members and cost Washington nearly $1 trillion.
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No firm date has yet been given on when the so-called "reduction in violence" period will begin. U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said Saturday during the Munich Security Conference that consultations are still under way on setting a start date for a seven-day trial period of reduced violence.
“That is a moving date because we are still doing consultations, if you will, ... so I can't give you a hard date right now,” Esper told reporters in Munich, Germany.
“Where we are right now is on the doorstep of a reduction-of-violence period. If we decide to move forward, if all sides hold up — meet their obligations under that reduction in violence — then we'll start talking about the next part, whether to move forward [with the comprehensive peace agreement],” Esper added.
The term "reduction in violence" has created some confusion among many Afghans including government officials who question why both sides refrain from calling it a ‘cease-fire.’