Afghan president welcomes initial election results, Abdullah challenges

Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah (C) speaks during a press conference in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, on Dec. 22, 2019. Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani has welcomed the preliminary results of the presidential election announced on Sunday as "fair" and expressed his congratulations to the nation and gratitude to the election commission. However, his rival in the presidential race Abdullah Abdullah described it as a "fraudulent" practice and vowed to fight through legal means until the fake votes were separated from the legitimate ones. (Xinhua/Rahmatullah Alizadah)