The Secretary-General welcomes the announcement of the certified final results of the 5 April Afghan Presidential elections. These Afghan-led elections mark an important step towards peaceful political transition in the country.

The Secretary-General sends his congratulations to the Afghan people for the courage and commitment they have shown to date in the election process. The Presidential and provincial elections have been a nationwide effort that demonstrates the capacity of Afghanistan to build a hopeful future. The Secretary-General urges all Afghan men and women to participate in a second round vote and to continue to shape the future direction of their country.

The Secretary-General congratulates the Afghan electoral authorities on finalizing results, and hopes that lessons learned from this process will be applied to any future ballot to maintain an impartial and transparent process. He also congratulates the two leading candidates on their constructive engagement with the electoral process and their acceptance of the results. He encourages them to continue to respect the electoral process as it moves to a second round. The Afghan people have placed great faith in the candidates, the electoral institutions and the security forces to bring a peaceful political transition to the country.  The Secretary-General encourages all parties to honour this trust.