KABUL, Afghanistan _ Afghanistan's incumbent president, Ashraf Ghani, has been declared the winner of a disputed presidential vote that's been tainted by accusations of vote-rigging.
Ghani led the poll with 50.64% of the vote, defeating his top rival Abdullah Abdullah who obtained 39.52% in the bitterly contested poll started on Sept. 28, Hawa Alam Nuristani, the chairwoman of the election commission, said on Tuesday evening.
Abdullah, who's the chief executive of the war-torn country and shares power with the incumbent, accused Ghani of rigging about 300,000 votes in his favor. Despite those concerns, the election commission said Ghani is the winner after investigating and invalidating the fraudulent votes.
Supporters of Abdullah, including current vice-president Abdul Rashid Dustom and Mohammad Maheqeq, who also holds a top government position, warned of the establishment of a parallel government if the election ends up in Ghani's favor.
This poll result comes as Afghanistan is on track to hold peace talks with the Taliban militants who control or contest half the country within 10 days of the signing of a peace deal between the group and the U.S., scheduled by the end of Febuary.
