Ashraf Ghani Sworn in as Afghan President

Ashraf Ghani has been sworn in as the new president of Afghanistan in the first peaceful transition of power in the country in more than 100 years, and the first democratic transfer since the Taliban fell in 2001. The lavish ceremony ended months of turmoil over a controversial election in which two candidates claimed they had won. Ghani succeeds Hamid Karzai, who leaves amid questions about corruption, incompetence, and instransigence within his outgoing government. Ghani and his rival, Abdullah Abdullah, both claimed to have won the June 14 election, which was considered tainted by fraud. The two men eventually agreed to a national unity government under pressure from the U.S. and the United Nations. Abdullah becomes the country’s chief executive, a position similar to prime minister.