Dostum rejects results

JAWZJAN (Agencies): Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum, first vice president, spoke at a gathering in Jawzjan and rejected the election result and called on the people to be ready and that governors will be appointed for the northern provinces of the country.

On Tuesday, the Independent Election Commission (IEC) announced President Ashraf Ghani as winner of Afghanistan’s presidential election, but hours after the announcement Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah announced the formation of a separate “inclusive government” and declared his “victory” in the polls.

“From the bottom of our heart, we are supporting the announcement of the inclusive government of Abdullah Abdullah,” Dostum said a gathering of his supporters at his house in Jawzjan province.

Gen. Dostum claimed that “the people’s vote has been ignored and the team that lost the election has been announced as the winner of the election.” He said: “We are supporting Abdullah Abdullah.”

“No one can ignore our rights,” Gen. Dostum said.

Dostum said that he will have a meeting with the US peace envoy for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, and other officials in Jawzjan.

Dostum said that Abdullah will soon “form a government that will include all ethnic groups.”

He called the IEC members “betrayers” and said “they (IEC members) were pressured by President Ghani’s team,” or they that “received money or the promise of positions.”

He called on his supporters “to not be silent.”

The results of the election, according to the IEC, show that President Ashraf Ghani has the highest count with 50.6% of the total amount with 923,592 votes, while Abdullah has 39.52% of the total amount, with 720,841 votes, according to the IEC.

IEC chairperson Hawa Alam Nuristani announced Mohammad Ashraf Ghani as the “elected president of Afghanistan” with 50.6%.