[6] After a series of negotiations and talks between Ghani, Abdullah and Kerry, the two candidates agreed to sign an Agreement to form a National Unity Government[7] based on 50–50 power sharing.

[14] Pakistan sealed its border with Afghanistan during the electoral period in order to reduce the chances of cross-border attacks.

[3] On 25 November 2013, the Independent Election Commission announced the ordering of the candidate names for the election ballot as follows:[23] Supported by(Hezbi Islami, Hizb-e Wahdat Islami Mardum-e Afghanistan, Yunus Qanuni, Atta Muhammad Nur[24]) On 6 March 2014 Qayum Karzai ended his bid for the presidency, and instead announced his support for Zalmai Rassoul.

Two other candidates – Sardar Mohammad Nadir Naeem and Abdul Rahim Wardak – did the same thing to create a strong Pashtun ticket.

[37][38] The second debate took place on 18 February 2014 and included four candidates: Daoud Sultanzoy, Mohammad Nader Naeem, Hedayat Amin Arsala, and Qotbuddin Helal.

Hilal argued that the Taliban was a diverse group, with certain members being driven by poverty, whilst others were "agents of intelligence agencies."

Sultanzoy argued that Afghanistan had made great sacrifices for democracy, and that equal rights under the law must be ensured.

Ahmadzai argued against the zero-option, stating that Afghan remained dangerous, but that Afghanistan would likely be stable by the end of the decade.

[42] On 7 April 2014, a roadside bomb was detonated in the Maywand District when a van drove over it, killing all 13 people on board.

In the attack, suicide bombers targeted his armored car, severely damaging the vehicle and killed three of his bodyguards as well as three bystanders.

Abdullah escaped largely unscathed, strongly condemning the attack while commenting, "the best response to this conspiracy is to go to vote on election day."

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, though the Taliban has previously threatened to violently disrupt the electoral process.

[49][50] On July 1, 2014, Afghan security forces seized weapons, ammunitions and explosives and killed around 27 Taliban during operations in Kunar, Kunduz, Badakhshan, Balkh, Zabul and Helmand provinces.

[51] The next day, a suicide bomber riding a bicycle targeted a vehicle of the Afghan National Army (ANA) at around 6.30 a.m. in which 14 people, including civilians were killed.

[52] The Afghan Intelligence – National Directorate of Security (NDS) Chief, Rahmatulllah Nabil accused Pakistan's ISI and Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of escalating clashes in the Helmand Province.

[53] The Taliban is said to have gathered hundreds of fighters in a bid of overtaking this region, amidst the U.S. withdrawal, which will be completed by December 2014.

Thijs Berman, head of the EU election assessment team, called for an in-depth review of the electoral fraud claims and said that necessary steps would be taken to clean it.

[56] The NDS recorded Ziaul Haq Amarkhel, the secretary of Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission, telling local officials to "take sheep to the mountains, stuff them, and bring them back," in an apparent reference to ballot stuffing.

In total, Nabil informed Karzai that NDS had intercepted approximately 5,000 communications with indicia of electoral fraud.

[57] Steve Coll recounts: "Ghani's surge of votes in the second round from Pashtun areas racked by violence was inherently suspect.

Due to allegations of widespread fraud, US Secretary of State John Kerry announced on 12 July that all ballots would be audited under UN supervision.