KABUL (Pajhwok): People in various provinces on Sunday welcomed the announcement of preliminary results from the September presidential election, but criticized the outcome’s prolonged delay.
President Ashraf Ghani has won the September 28 ballot by bagging 50.64 per cent of the votes, the Independent Election Commission (IEC) announced on Sunday.
Chief Executive Officer Dr. Abdullah Abdullah stood second with 39.52 per cent of the votes, the commission said while unveiling the long-delayed preliminary results.
About a million of the initial 2.7 million votes were thrown out due to anomalies, causing in part the lowest turnout in any election in the country.
The residents of southern Kandahar province expressed happiness over the result announcement, saying it was good news for the countrymen after a long wait and election related tension.
Haji Syed Mohammad, who lives in Kandahar city, the provincial capital, told Pajhwok the delay in announcing the election result not only disheartened the people but also affected many spheres of life.
He said people were happy about the election results and hoped the remaining process would be completed soon to declare the final results.
Another resident, Zulikha, said the election result announcement broke the electoral impasse but the overall situation eroded people’s faith in the democratic exercise.
In eastern Nangarhar province, Zabihullah, a resident of provincial capital, Jalalabad, said the results were announced after a prolonged delay which had paralyzed people’s routine life.
He urged the Independent Election Commission to pave ground for the final results by addressing the problematic process.
A resident of Mazar-i-Sharif, the capital of northern Balkh province, Dr. Ghulam Rasoul Malakzai, said the results announcement reduced the uncertainty around the election process so some extent.
He asked the IEC not to waste further time, address all complaints in a timely manner and announce the final result.
Qabil Noor Hamkar, a resident of southeastern Khost City, said the result took time as the IEC had been under internal and external pressures. He said the final results should not be delayed like the preliminary result.
In Helmand’s Lashkargah city, resident Abdul Wali Tawheed, said people had lost faith in the election commission but the result announcement restored their trust in the electoral body to some level.
Najibulah Muhseni, a resident of Pul-i-Khumri, the capital of northern Baghlan province, said they were happy with the results but not with the delay.
He said people were doubtful about the election transparency and thus there was a low turnout and the three-month delay in holding the ballot further eroded people’s trust.
Another resident, Fahim Nekzad, said the prolonged delay in announcing the election results showed the IEC was not independent. He said the result delay had a negative impact on trade and investment.
Mohammad Khan Jawhar, a resident of southeastern Paktika province, said the IEC had been under influence of powerful individuals and had not been able to easily announce the election result.
A member of Pakitka provincial council, Nimatullah Babari, said people took part in the presidential election despite many hardships and the delayed result affected in their faith in the government.
Daud Shah, a resident of western Heart province, said the delayed results had created many problems for people and they were happy over the result announcement. He asked the IEC to timely declare the final result.
Similar views were expressed by residents of other provinces regarding the announcement of the much delayed initial result of the presidential election held on Sept 28.
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