The re-election of the incumbent Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani, was "unlawful", the Taliban's spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said on Tuesday, adding that the "fake" elections were not in line with the Afghan peace process.
Earlier on Tuesday, Ghani was been declared the winner of Afghanistan's presidential election after receiving 50.64 percent of the votes. The election was held in late September, but the announcement of the results had been delayed several times.
"Just as announcing Ashraf Ghani a president under the cover of fake elections is unlawful and has no legal basis, it is also in conflict with the contents of the ongoing peace process while keeping in mind the current sensitive circumstances of the Afghan issue," Mujahid said in a statement.
Mujahid also said that the Taliban rejected the "meaningless" appointment of Ghani as the Afghan president, just like the militant group previously rejected "fake and staged" elections in the country.
Since 2018, the United States and the Taliban have been attempting to negotiate a peace deal that would ensure the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan in exchange for the movement's guarantee that the country would not become a safe haven for terrorists. The talks, however, have excluded the Afghan government since the Taliban refuse to engage in any kind of dialogue with it.
Earlier in February, Washington and the Taliban agreed to a week-long reduction in violence in what could become the first step toward reaching a peace agreement between the two sides.