The controversial 2014 presidential election in Afghanistan has yielded several instant narratives that together paint a hugely confusing picture of what actually happened—its political effect in the second-round results, the deal brokered by U.S. secretary of state John Kerry, and the initiation of a technically and logistically complex audit. In the end, the election proved a contest of narratives as well as a contest of votes. The Taliban’s involvement in the process and how it is emerging in the wake of the vote are significant to the future of Afghanistan. Is ethnicity becoming as consequential as ideology? Is the Taliban moving closer to mainstream Afghan politics? Is becoming more pragmatic than idealistic, more peaceful and less violent? Or is it Afghan politics that is moving closer to the Taliban and armed politics? This report explores the Taliban’s telling lack of any accepted overall leadership, its loose federative structure, its splintering into three primary and often divergent divisions, its internal debates regarding the election, and its possible negotiations with the new government in Kabul.