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Afghanistan’s presidential rivals sign deal
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AFGHANISTAN’S two presidential candidates signed a power-sharing deal yesterday, capped with a hug and a handshake, three months after a disputed runoff that threatened to plunge the country into turmoil and complicate the withdrawal of US and foreign troops.
The incoming president — Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai — and Abdullah Abdullah signed the national unity government deal as President Hamid Karzai, in power since the 2001 US-led invasion ousted the Taliban, looked on. The deal creates the new role of chief executive for Abdullah following weeks of negotiations on a power-sharing arrangement after fraud accusations in the June runoff vote.
“I am very happy today that both of my brothers, Dr Ashraf Ghani and Dr Abdullah Abdullah, in an Afghan agreement for the benefit of this country, for the progress and development of this country, that they agreed on the structure affirming the new government of Afghanistan,” Karzai said.
A White House statement lauded the two leaders, saying the agreement helps bring closure to Afghanistan’s political crisis.
“This agreement marks an important opportunity for unity and increased stability in Afghanistan. We continue to call on all Afghans, including political, religious, and civil society leaders, to support this agreement and to come together in calling for cooperation and calm,” the White House statement said.
Jan Kubis, the top UN official in Afghanistan, said the uncertainty of the past months took a heavy toll on Afghanistan’s security, economy and governance. An inauguration ceremony to see Ashraf Ghani replace Karzai as president and swear in Abdullah as chief executive — a position akin to prime minister — was expected within days.
As talks dragged on, Abdullah’s mostly northern supporters had threatened to form a parallel government or react violently to any outright victory by Ashraf Ghani, a former finance minister and World Bank official whose power base is in the country’s south and east. Ashraf Ghani said he always maintained that ethnic politics in Afghanistan demand some sort of power sharing deal and not a winner-takes-all government.
Abdullah believes he won the first round of the election back in April with more than 50 percent of the vote, which would have precluded a runoff. But the official results showed him winning about 45 percent of that vote in a crowded presidential field of 10, not quite enough for an outright victory.
He also believes he won a June runoff with Ashraf Ghani. But official totals show Ashraf Ghani with 55 percent of the vote.
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