Two different people are sworn in as president of Afghanistan
The electoral farce is distracting from peace talks with the Taliban
AFGHANISTAN WAITED five months for a president and then two came along at once. An election was held in September, but the results were not announced until last month. Although the electoral commission said the incumbent, Ashraf Ghani, had won, his main electoral rival, Abdullah Abdullah, dismissed its tally as fraudulent and declared himself the winner. On March 9th both men had themselves sworn in, in competing inauguration ceremonies held just metres apart in the capital, Kabul.
This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “Twin peaks”
From the March 14th 2020 edition
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