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Afghanistan's Ghani Wins Majority in Bitterly Contested Polls

Ayaz Gul

   ISLAMABAD - Afghanistan's incumbent President Ashraf Ghani has
   apparently won a second five-year term based on preliminary results
   announced Sunday for the disputed September 28 presidential vote.

   The head of the country's Independent Election Commission (IEC)
   released the long-delayed outcomes at a news conference in Kabul,
   noting that Ghani secured around 51% (50.64 exact figure) of the more
   than 1.8 million total votes.

   Hawa Alam Nuristani said Ghani's main challenger and governing partner
   in the outgoing unity government, Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah,
   received 39.52% of the ballots. The rest of the votes were shared among
   other candidates, she said.

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