KABUL (Pajhwok): President Ashraf Ghani has won the September ballot by bagging 50.64 per cent of the votes, the Independent Election Commission (IEC) announced on Sunday.
Chief Executive Officer Dr. Abdullah Abdullah stood second with 39.52 per cent, the commission said while unveiling the long-delayed preliminary results.
About a million of the initial 2.7 million votes were thrown out due to anomalies, representing the lowest turnout in any election in the country.
On the completion of a vote recount and audit in all process, IEC Chairperson Hawa Alam Nuristani told a press conference here the number of the biometrically verified votes in the September 28 election was 1824,404.
Gulbadin Hekmatyar, leader of the Hezb-i-Islam Afghanistan (HIA), managed to poll 3.85 percent of the ballots cast in the election.
Originally due on October 19, the initial outcome was delayed several times for technical reasons and allegations of rigging from contenders.
Under the relevant law, presidential runners can now lodge complaints before a final result is declared.
Hours ago, the panel said the recount process in the seven remaining provinces has been completed but differences on announcing the outcome persisted.
pk/mud