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Ghani Won 2014 Election Based on Fraudulent Votes: Finding
According to research conducted by the Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies (AISS), President Ashraf Ghani has not won the 2014 Presidential Election based on clean votes.
The research paper titled “The Myth of Afghan Electoral Democracy: The Irregularities of the 2014 Presidential Election” is written by American Professor Thomas H. Johnson who a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the AISS.
This research systematically assesses the 2014 Afghanistan Presidential Election using provincial voting data as well and explicit data from polling centers.
Based on this research paper, during the second round of the 2014 elections, a large number of fraudulent votes were casted in favor of President Ashraf Ghani in certain provinces where he had fewer votes during the first round of election compared to his rival Abdullah Abdullah, who later become the Chief Executive of the National Unity Government which was brokered by the former State Secretary of the United States John Kerry.
Findings also reveal that the election commission had paved the way for systematic fraud in favor of Ghani at that time.
Speaking via a video call, Professor Johnson on Thursday said that the entire Afghan electoral system must be recalibrated and the and the best result of the 2014 Afghan Presidential Election is to draw lessons from it and these lessons should serve as an immediate mandate for changing a badly flawed system for instance; the Afghan voter registration process has to be completely revamped etc.
At the event, Davood Ali Najafi, former chief of the (IEC) secretariat said that we should learn lessons from the past and bring reform to the election system as it is the only solution for holding more democratic election.
Naeem Ayoubzada, Head of Transparent Election Foundation of Afghanistan (TEFA) said that based on their observations, the percentage of fraud and electoral violations have increased in 2018 when compared with the year 2014 election.
This comes as the Afghan presidential election is scheduled to be held on July 20. It was originally scheduled for April 20, but later it was delayed after problems raised in using a biometric system and finalizing results of Afghan parliamentary elections.
Pakistan on Friday summoned Afghan Deputy Head of Mission in Islamabad to convey “strong demarche” over a deadly attack on a military camp in North Waziristan District that killed four Pakistani soldiers.
In a statement, Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the attack was carried out by a faction of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
The statement said that Pakistan conveyed “grave concern over the continued support and facilitation” provided by the Islamic Emirate to TTP.
Pakistan has demanded “a full investigation and decisive action against the perpetrators and facilitators of the terrorist attacks launched against Pakistan from Afghan soil.”
It urged the Islamic Emirate “to take immediate, concrete and verifiable measures against all terror groups operating from its territory, including their leadership, and deny the continued use of Afghan soil for terrorism against Pakistan.
According to the statement, the Islamic Emirate has been “categorically informed that Pakistan reserves the right to defend its sovereignty and protect its citizens, and will take all necessary measures to respond to terrorism originating from Afghan soil.”
Pakistani officials have repeatedly claimed that attacks in the country are originated from Afghan soil, a charge the Islamic Emirate denies.
President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev has underscored Afghanistan’s continued importance in regional cooperation, saying the country remains one of the key areas of interaction among regional partners.
Addressing the first summit of the “Central Asia Plus Japan” dialogue, Mirziyoyev said participating countries share a common aspiration to see Afghanistan become peaceful, stable, and oriented toward meaningful development.
The Uzbek president praised Japan’s longstanding and consistent support for Afghanistan, noting that Tokyo has for many years been among the leading donors and partners assisting the Afghan people.
He expressed confidence that coordinated efforts and joint contributions by regional countries and Japan would help improve living standards in Afghanistan, advance socio-economic and infrastructure development, and facilitate the country’s active involvement in regional economic projects.
The Embassy of Japan in Afghanistan announced on Friday that the country has allocated $19.5 million in humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan.
In a statement, the Japanese Embassy said it hopes the aid will help bring positive change to the lives of vulnerable Afghans.
According to the statement, the assistance will cover the basic humanitarian needs of vulnerable communities in Afghanistan.
The embassy added that the aid will be delivered through United Nations agencies, international organizations, and Japanese non-governmental organizations operating in Afghanistan.
Japan’s total assistance to Afghanistan since August 2021 has reached more than $549 million.
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