[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 8]
[Senate]
[Pages 11570-11571]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              AFGHANISTAN

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I have just returned from Afghanistan, 
where I met with the two Presidential candidates, Dr. Ashraf Ghani and 
Dr. Abdullah. Both Dr. Ghani and Dr. Abdullah are impressive men who 
have committed to reformist agendas and campaigned throughout the 
country. Afghanistan is fortunate to have two such capable Presidential 
candidates.
  In the course of my meetings with the two candidates last Sunday and 
indeed during many meetings over the years, each has told me that he 
appreciates the support the United States has provided to their 
country, and each will sign a bilateral security agreement with the 
United States as soon as possible after the next President is 
inaugurated.
  This is a particularly sensitive time for Afghanistan, which has not 
had a peaceful transition of power in the 50 years since Zahir Shah was 
overthrown in a coup. More than 7 million ballots were cast in the 
first round of the Presidential election back in April, and more than 8 
million ballots were recorded in the runoff election last month. All 
agree there was an impressive turnout in a country where the Taliban 
has repeatedly threatened violence against those who vote.
  There have been dramatic improvements in Afghanistan over the last 
decade in the number of schools and universities, in the number of 
students and teachers--particularly female students and female 
teachers--in Afghan life expectancy, in average income, and in many 
other areas. The Afghan Army and the Afghan National Police, who have 
taken over security responsibility from U.S. and coalition forces, have 
shown great capability by successfully securing two rounds of elections 
and repelling a concerted Taliban attack in the Helmand region of the 
country.
  If the ongoing dispute about the outcome of the Afghan Presidential 
election is not resolved in a fair and credible manner, however, these 
achievements would be at risk. The Taliban does not have the ability to 
defeat the Afghan Army or to take over Afghan cities and population 
centers. However, if a disputed election were to lead to infighting or 
to the establishment of parallel governments, the army could be 
severely weakened and divided, providing new opportunities for the 
Taliban.
  The United States and our coalition allies would be much less likely 
to provide the continued military and economic assistance that 
Afghanistan needs if that country's leaders cannot pull together and 
resolve their disputes through the existing election process.
  The State Department stated on Monday:

       The continued support of the United States for Afghanistan 
     requires that Afghanistan remains united and that the result 
     of this election is deemed credible.

  Both candidates told me personally on Sunday that they believe a 
comprehensive audit of the election results is necessary and 
appropriate and that they will abide by the results of such an audit. 
They also stated that they understand the outcome of the election will 
not be final and will not be credible until such an audit has been 
completed.
  The two campaign teams have been working with the United Nations and 
other international elections experts over the last few days to develop 
an appropriate audit scope to recommend to the elections commission. I 
had hoped that an agreement on this review could be announced at the 
same time that a preliminary vote count was released on Monday. While 
that did not happen, the head of the Independent Election Commission 
said the following:

       The announcement [of] preliminary results does not mean the 
     winner has been announced. The investigation of votes could 
     have impacts on the final results.

  The two campaigns have already agreed on audit triggers that will 
result in the review of nearly half of the ballots cast, but they have 
not yet reached full agreement on the measures to be taken. I hope they 
will be able to do so in the very near future. But this is the bottom 
line: Whether or not they are able to reach agreement in full, the 
Electoral Complaints Commission, working with the Independent Election 
Commission, has a responsibility to decide how many ballots to audit, 
and they have that responsibility on their own initiative. The 
Independent Election Commission must then announce a winner.
  The path to resolution of the matter is not unclear. On the contrary, 
the Afghan Constitution and election law are very clear. There is no 
uncertainty about this path. The Independent Election Commission and 
the Electoral Complaints Commission have the responsibility to proceed 
on their own to determine how many ballots need to be audited and to 
conduct an audit with or without the agreement of the candidates. 
Indeed, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan has 
already called on the election commissions to do just that.

[[Page 11571]]

  I said to the two candidates on Sunday that the Afghan people and the 
Afghan security forces have shown great bravery in standing up for 
their country and that it is now time for the country's leaders to do 
the same. It would be truly unfortunate if the great progress made in 
Afghanistan at the expense of so much Afghan, American, and coalition 
blood and treasure were to be jeopardized by political infighting and 
the failure of political leadership.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor, and I note the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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