President of Afghanistan
The president of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan was constitutionally the head of state and head of government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (2004–2021) and Commander-in-Chief of the Afghan Armed Forces. During the 2021 Taliban offensive, President Ashraf Ghani fled Afghanistan to Tajikistan on 15 August 2021, precipitating the fall of the capital Kabul to the Taliban. After Ghani fled, the Taliban occupied the Arg (the Presidential palace). Eligibility and selection process. Article 62 of the 2004 Constitution of Afghanistan states that a candidate for the office of President: Powers. The 2004 Constitution grants  the president wide powers over military and legislative affairs, with a relatively weak national bicameral National Assembly, the House of the People (Wolesi Jirga) and the House of Elders (Meshrano Jirga). A president can only serve up to two five-year terms. Hamid Karzai began his first five-year term in 2004. After his second term ended in 2014, Ashraf Ghani was elected as the next Afghan president.