World leaders commend Afghan elections
June 15, 2014, 10:11 am

Some 60 per cent of eligible voters – including a large number of women – voted in the runoff presidential election Saturday [Xinhua]

The runoff will determine whether former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah or his rival, economist Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzaiwill, becomes president in a war-ravaged country that requires billions of dollars of financial aid to rebuild infrastructure and secure its borders.

During the first round in early April, Abdullah, a former commander in the now defunct Northern Alliance and a former foreign minister in the years after the 2001 US invasion, led with 44.4 per cent of the vote compared to 33 per cent for Ghani, a former finance minister.

Saturday’s polls were relatively calm with sporadic violence reported far from the makeshift polling stations.

“The participation of men and women across the country demonstrates, once again, the commitment of the Afghan people to shape the future of their country and to reject violence and intimidation,” said a statement issued by Ban’s spokesperson.

The UN chief commended the performance of the Afghan security forces and said the next step in the democratic process fell on those involved in supporting the conduct of the vote, including the Independent Electoral Commission and thousands of Afghan observers.

“It is the task now of the Afghan electoral institutions to tally and adjudicate votes in an impartial, transparent and timely manner,” the statement said.

Meanwhile, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said his government was looking forward to working with the winner of Saturday’s runoff on Saturday.

“Today the Afghan people have once again shown the world their determination to have a say in their country’s future by turning out to vote in large numbers, and they should be hugely proud of their achievement,” Hague said.

For its part, the US State Department said that it had already secured pledges from both candidates to sign a bilateral security agreement that grants legal immunity to US troops that are to remain in the country after withdrawal of the bulk of its forces there.

The deal would be a major win for the Obama administration which has been unable to convince outgoing President Hamid Karzai to put pen to paper.

“We look forward to working with the next government chosen by the Afghan people,” White House spokesperson Jay Carney said, alluding to the deal.

“The United States congratulates the people of Afghanistan on the completion today of the second round of voting in their historic presidential elections,” he added.

The vote tally is expected to be completed by July 2 with the results announced three weeks later.

Source: Agencies