Press Releases 2009
U.S. Embassy Statement on Announcement of First Round Results
October 20, 2009
The United States welcomes today's announcement of certified results in the first round of the Afghan Presidential elections. We congratulate all candidates in this historic race, and applaud the vigorous campaigns run by President Karzai and Dr. Abdullah, garnering support across the country and ethnic lines. As neither of the top two candidates received more than fifty percent of the vote, the Constitution calls for the holding of a run-off. We welcome President Karzai's statesmanlike acceptance of this result and his agreement to a second round of voting.
The United States commends the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) and the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) for fulfilling their mandates, working in coordination with one another to ensure that the electoral and adjudication processes were carried out under Afghanistan's Electoral Law and according to international standards.
We in the international community have begun working with Afghan authorities to enable a second round of voting in coming weeks, fully recognizing that we continue to face security challenges. The United States and our international partners, including the NATO International Security Assistance Forces and the United Nations, stand ready to support the Afghan people, the Afghan National Security Forces and electoral authorities as they carry out this next round of voting.
On August 20 the Afghan people exhibited great courage, and we encourage
all Afghans to take part in the second round of voting to choose their President for the next five years. We expect candidates and their supporters to stand by the certified results as announced today and express their views in a peaceful manner.
We stand firmly beside this electoral process. Our goal is to see an Afghan Government elected under the Constitution, representing the will of its people and providing a leader and partner with whom we can work to move Afghanistan towards security, stability and opportunity for all its citizens.
Press Releases 2009
U.S. Embassy Statement on Announcement of First Round Results
October 20, 2009
The United States welcomes today's announcement of certified results in the first round of the Afghan Presidential elections. We congratulate all candidates in this historic race, and applaud the vigorous campaigns run by President Karzai and Dr. Abdullah, garnering support across the country and ethnic lines. As neither of the top two candidates received more than fifty percent of the vote, the Constitution calls for the holding of a run-off. We welcome President Karzai's statesmanlike acceptance of this result and his agreement to a second round of voting.
The United States commends the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) and the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) for fulfilling their mandates, working in coordination with one another to ensure that the electoral and adjudication processes were carried out under Afghanistan's Electoral Law and according to international standards.
We in the international community have begun working with Afghan authorities to enable a second round of voting in coming weeks, fully recognizing that we continue to face security challenges. The United States and our international partners, including the NATO International Security Assistance Forces and the United Nations, stand ready to support the Afghan people, the Afghan National Security Forces and electoral authorities as they carry out this next round of voting.
On August 20 the Afghan people exhibited great courage, and we encourage
all Afghans to take part in the second round of voting to choose their President for the next five years. We expect candidates and their supporters to stand by the certified results as announced today and express their views in a peaceful manner.
We stand firmly beside this electoral process. Our goal is to see an Afghan Government elected under the Constitution, representing the will of its people and providing a leader and partner with whom we can work to move Afghanistan towards security, stability and opportunity for all its citizens.