Presidential candidate and leader of Hizb-e-Islami party, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, at a press conference in Kabul on Wednesday rejected Tuesday’s announcement by the Independent Election Commission (IEC) declaring incumbent Ashraf Ghani the country’s next president, saying Ghani "chose the path of crisis rather than the path of cooperation."

“We suggested that you (President Ghani) cooperate with us to resolve the crisis, but you (Ghani) chose the path of crisis,” said Hekmatyar.

The Independent Election Commission (IEC) on Wednesday granted a certificate to incumbent Ashraf Ghani who on Tuesday was declared the winner of last September’s presidential elections. The announcement has sparked strong reactions from Ghani’s rivals, many of whom have already rejected the election results as a “fraud.”

“We have come to unite our country, we will work for unity”, Ghani said during the ceremony.