Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, taking the oath to protect and preserve the Afghan Constitution, became the nation's first president to take office from his predecessor through a democratic transition.
The inauguration ceremony took place Monday, September 29 at the Presidential Palace in Kabul. With the participation of 1,400 national and international guests, the ceremony began with President Hamid Karzai saluting the army and bidding farewell to them followed by the recitation of the Quran and the national anthem.
High-ranking officials including Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah and his two deputies, former President Sibghatullah Mojaddedi, Yunus Qanuni, Abdul Rab Rassoul Sayyaf, President Ghani's two VPs, and now former President Karzai and his two VPs were present at the ceremony.
Representatives from 34 countries, as well as the EU and UN, were in the crowd.
"Our journey in the past 13 years has been full of ups and downs; I am proud to handover responsibilities to the president-elect in a peaceful process," Karzai said as he presented his final farewell as the president of the country. "Afghanistan is off on a good journey, and I will continue to be part of this journey. Long live Afghanistan. Long live our proud nation."
The swearing in ceremony began soon after Karzai's speech. "In the name of Allah, I pledge to support Islam, the Constitution and its implementation. I pledge to support and safeguard Afghanistan's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity and national interests. And with the grace of God and the support of our nation, I will make all efforts possible for the sake of the nation," Ghani repeated after the Chief Justice as he swore in to take office.
Right after being sworn into office, Ghani inaugurated his First VP Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum and Second VP Sarwar Danish and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah and his two deputies.
After being sworn in, Abdullah delivered a speech, emphasizing the importance of national unity and thanking former President Karzai for mediating between the candidates and facilitating a peaceful transfer of power."Today we are working as one united team for a better Afghanistan," Abdullah said. "Afghanistan today is in need of cooperation, brotherhood, unity and partnership more than ever. Long live Afghanistan."
At the end of the inauguration process, President Ghani delivered his first speech as the nation's president, thanking former President Hamid Karzai and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah for their cooperation in the political process and praising the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) for their achievements and sacrifices. "We want to be held accountable," Ghani said, repeating the first Muslim Caliph Abu Bakr Sediq's famous saying during his Bay'ah (inauguration) speech. "I am your leader but I am no better than you. If I make mistakes, you should hold me accountable."
"We should look toward the future with hope," Ghani told the crowd at the ceremony. "Social justice is the foundation of long-standing peace; any peace that is preserved with injustice does not stay. Politics should not be used as an instrument to creating instability, it should be a means for peace."
Moreover, the new president pledged to use all means possible to bring the necessary reforms and tackle the challenges in the executive, legal and judicial branches, fight corruption, work on the foreign policy and continue to support and develop the ANSF.
Ghani has a lot of experience working with the international community, after serving as the head of planning and strategy for the World Bank, an advisor to the UN's Special Representative to Afghanistan, Lakhdar Brahimi, and as a top advisor to the transitional government of Karzai. He later worked as the Minister of Finance and the Chancellor of Kabul University. He placed fourth in a bid for the presidency in 2009.
Ghani was named the president-elect this month after a more than 200-day-long elections process that wore away at the resolve of the country. But on Monday, the new president was welcomed with cheers and applause.
The ceremony concluded with President Ghani saluting the army.