- Unity prevails as Afghan presidential candidates Abdullah and Ghani sign power-sharing deal
- Pakistan, US welcome the deal which will enable both candidates to share control
- Ghani to sign bilateral security agreement with US after assuming office of president, deal will allow about 12,000 US troops to stay in Afghanistan in 2015
Former Afghan finance minister Ashraf Ghani was named Afghanistan’s president-elect Sunday after signing a power-sharing deal with opponent Abdullah Abdullah, ending months of turmoil over a disputed election.
Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan Chairman Ahmad Yousuf Nuristani has said that the full results would be provided later. He acknowledged flaws in the June 14 run-off vote and said that a United Nations-supervised audit, though comprehensive, was inadequate in completely weeding out rigging.
Under the terms of the unity government deal, Ghani will share power with a chief executive proposed by Abdullah. The two will share control over who leads key institutions including the Afghan Army, and other executive decisions.
According to the draft agreement seen by Reuters, the deal allows the unity government to call an Afghan national assembly of elders to help reform election laws and prevent possible crisis situations.
“Afghanistan will now be able to move forward for the next five years though it is not an ideal government,” commented KabulCenter for Strategic Studies Director Waliullah Rahmani.
Both Ghani and Abdullah claim to have won the election, and the UN has pushed hard for a national unity government to avoid a return to the ethnic divisions of the 1990s civil war.
SECURITY AGREEMENT:
A bilateral security agreement with the US will be one of the first documents to be signed by the new president and will allow about 12,000 US troops to stay on into 2015 for training and support duties.
According to NATO Commander US General Philip Breedlove, the unity government will enable the rapid conclusion of the unity agreement.
In November 2013, President Karzai said he would not sign the deal immediately and that the US needed to bring peace to Afghanistan before any agreement was reached.
Welcoming the signing of the agreement, Karzai said, “I am very happy that both Ghani and Abdullah, in an agreement for the benefit, progress and development of the country, agreed on the structure affirming the new government of Afghanistan.”
Karzai’s Spokesman Aimal Faizi said that Ghani will be sworn in as the country’s president within a week.
PAKISTAN WELCOMES AFGHAN UNITY:
Pakistan has welcomed the Afghan agreement to form the unity government.
“Consistent with our support for a peaceful democratic transition, we regard the signing of this agreement as a positive development,” a Foreign Ministry statement said.
Congratulating the two leaders and the people of Afghanistan, the ministry spokesperson reaffirmed Pakistan’s support for the efforts to build a peaceful, stable and unified Afghanistan.
US WELCOMES AGREEMENT:
US has also welcomed the signing of the agreement and expressed willingness to work with the next administration to ensure its success. According to a US State Department statement, the political agreement helps bring closure to Afghanistan’s political crisis and restores confidence in the way forward.
The State Department said that respect for the democratic process was the only path for Afghanistan’s progress towards a secure and stable future.
“We look forward to resolution of the electoral process with the announcement of the election outcome, the inauguration of a new president and appointment of a chief executive and the conclusion of the Bilateral Security Agreement and NATO Status Of Forces Agreement that will enable and reinforce our strategic partnership and our commitment to support a future of stability for Afghanistan,” the statement said.