President of Afghanistan

For a list, see List of heads of state of Afghanistan § Non-monarchs.

President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
د افغانستان ولسمشر (Pashto) رئیس جمهور افغانستان (Dari)
Emblem of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
Presidential standard
Status	Office abolished
Member of	Cabinet
Residence	The Arg
Seat	Kabul
Appointer	Direct election
Term length	5 years, renewable once
Precursor	King of Afghanistan
Formation	17 July 1973 (1973-07-17) (original) 7 December 2004 (2004-12-07) (latest form)
First holder	Mohammed Daoud Khan
Final holder	Ashraf Ghani
Abolished	15 August 2021 (2021-08-15)
Superseded by	Supreme Leader
Deputy	Vice President
Salary	؋960,000 monthly[1]
Website	president.gov.af (inactive) (15 August 2021 archive)

The president of the Republic of Afghanistan was constitutionally the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Afghanistan (1987–1992) and Commander-in-Chief of the Afghan Armed Forces.

After the Fall of Kabul in 1992, he was deposed and replaced by the Islamic State.

Eligibility and selection process

Article 62 of the 2004 Constitution of Afghanistan stated that a candidate for the office of President had to:^[2]

• be a citizen of Afghanistan, Muslim, born of Afghan parents;
• not be a citizen of another country;
• be at least forty years old when declaring candidacy;
• not have been convicted of crimes against humanity, a criminal act or deprived of civil rights by a court;
• not have previously served more than two terms as president.

Powers

The 2004 Constitution granted the president wide powers over military and legislative affairs, with a relatively weak national bicameral National Assembly, the House of the People (Wolesi Jirga) and the House of Elders (Meshrano Jirga). A president could only serve up to two five-year terms.

Hamid Karzai began his first five-year term in 2004.^[3] After his second term ended in 2014, Ashraf Ghani was elected as the next Afghan president.^[4]

Last election

Main article: 2019 Afghan presidential election

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Ashraf Ghani	Independent	923,592	50.64
	Abdullah Abdullah	National Coalition	720,841	39.52
	Gulbuddin Hekmatyar	Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin	70,241	3.85
	Rahmatullah Nabil	Independent	33,919	1.86
	Faramarz Tamanna	Independent	18,063	0.99
	Noorullah Jalili	Independent	15,519	0.85
	Abdul Latif Pedram	National Congress Party	12,608	0.69
	Enayatullah Hafiz	Independent	11,375	0.62
	Mohammad Hakim Torsan	Independent	6,500	0.36
	Ahmad Wali Massoud	Independent	3,942	0.22
	Mohammad Shahab Hakimi	Independent	3,318	0.18
	Ghulam Farooq Najrabi	Independent	1,608	0.09
	Mohammad Hanif Atmar	Truth and Justice	1,567	0.09
	Noor Rahman Lewal	Independent	855	0.05
Total			1,823,948	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			9,665,745	18.87
Source: IEC

The Arg (the presidential palace)

See also

• Prime Minister of Afghanistan
• Chief Executive (Afghanistan)

References

1. "Afghanistan's lower house approves President Karzai's salary and expenses amount". Wadsam. 1 June 2013. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
2. "The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan". Government of Afghanistan. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
3. Gall, Carlotta (4 November 2004). "Election of Karzai Is Declared Official". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
4. "Ashraf Ghani sworn in as new Afghan president". BBC News. 29 September 2014. Retrieved 25 July 2021.