Indian govt welcomes preliminary results of Presidential polls in Afghanistan

"We welcome the announcement of the preliminary results of the Presidential election of Afghanistan held on September 28 and commend all the leaders and institutions for their hard work to preserve and strengthen democracy in the country," MEA spokesman Raveesh Kumar said in response to a query on Afghan Presidential polls.

"We expect that the complaints would be addressed through the prescribed legal processes so that the final results are declared in a timely manner. We hope that the Afghan leaders and other stakeholders will work together to further strengthen the democratic polity and to fight the serious challenges of terrorism facing the country," he said.

He further said: "India remains committed to work with the people and Government of Afghanistan in its fight against terrorism and in its pursuit of socio-economic development".

Afghan officials on Sunday announced that President Ashraf Ghani had won polls bagging 50.64 per cent of the preliminary tally — the majority he needed to avoid a second round of voting.

Prominent Afghan leader Abdullah Abdullah, the estranged governing partner of Mr Ghani and the main contender has denounced the preliminary results as "fraudulent".

In 2009, Abdullah had contested against President Hamid Karzai in the Afghan presidential election, coming in second place with 30.5 per cent of the votes.