Rassoul Backs Abdullah for Afghan President After Coming Third

Zalmai Rassoul endorsed Abdullah Abdullah for the Afghan presidency after coming third in the preliminary results from the first round of the election.

The support comes following an agreement to build “national unity” and work together on the peace process, stability and economic development ofAfghanistan, Rassoul told reporters today in Kabul.

Abdullah, a former foreign minister, finished first with 45 percent of the votes, short of the 50 percent needed to avoid a runoff, according to the April 5 poll results announced on April 26. Former World Bank economist Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai came second with 32 percent, while Rassoul ranked third with less than 12 percent.

The endorsement comes after another presidential hopeful Gul Agha Sherzai, who served as governor in the Kandahar and Nangarhar provinces, backed Abdullah on May 3 in the second round of polls expected in early June.

“The endorsements would probably provide good news for Abdullah’s team,” Jawid Kohistani, a Kabul-based security and political analyst, said in a phone interview. “Both Rassoul and Sherzai are Pashtuns and can help Abdullah obtain votes from areas where Pashtun ethnicity is in majority.”

Rassoul obtained 53 percent of his votes from Kandahar, where most of the people are Pashtuns, while Ahmadzai secured 15 percent and Abdullah 11 percent in the province, according to the Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan. Abdullah got most of his votes from areas where Tajiks and Hazaras are in the majority. Ahmadzai’s supporters were mostly Uzbeks and some Pashtuns.

Pashtuns account for 42 percent of Afghanistan’s 32 million people, while Tajiks make up 27 percent, according to the CIA World Factbook. Uzbeks and Hazaras each account for 9 percent, with other groups comprising the rest.