Over seven million Afghans, or 58 percent of the population, successfully voted in the runoff presidential election on Saturday, despite several attacks from the Taliban at polling centers.
“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,” Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon said in a statement.
Because none of the presidential candidates won at least 50 percent of the vote in the April election, a runoff was held between the top two contenders – Abdullah Abdullah, who won 44.9 percent of the vote in the first election, and Ashraf Ghani Amadzai, who came in second with 31.5 percent.
The Afghan Independent Election Commission (IEC) will announce preliminary results for the runoff election on July 2 and expect the final results to be announced on July 22. Whoever wins the majority of the vote will replace current president Hamid Karzai, marking the first democratic transfer of power in Afghanistan’s history.
Both Abdullah and Amadzai have indicated that they will sign the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) with the United States, which provides that the U.S. will continue to provide assistance to strengthen the security and stability of Afghanistan and will work with Afghanistan to continue coordinating counter-terrorism efforts. The candidates also signed a petition for women’s rights, announced in a press conference held Thursday. Initiated by 117 women-led organizations, the petition calls for women’s empowerment with the goals of equality in education and leadership and an end to violence against women.
Media Resources: TOLO News 6/16/14; United Nations News Centre 6/14/14; Feminist Newswire 11/22/13, 4/28/14, 5/19/14, 6/13/14