Afghanistan presidential rivals sign unity agreement
Iran Press TV
Sun Sep 21, 2014 12:5PM GMT
Afghanistan's presidential rivals have inked a power-sharing agreement, ending months of turmoil over disputed election results.
Based on Sunday's deal, Ashraf Ghani is due to become president, while Abdullah Abdullah will take up the new post of "chief executive officer" (CEO), which will be similar to the role of prime minister.
"I'm happy that our brothers, Dr. Ashraf Ghani and Dr. Abdullah, struck an Afghani deal for the sake of goodness and prosperity of the country," outgoing President Hamid Karzai said in a speech after the signing.
He also expressed hope that with their efforts Afghanistan attains 'long-lasting peace."
The impasse between Ghani and Abdullah since the June 14 vote plunged Afghanistan into a crisis with both candidates claiming to have won the election, which was engulfed in allegations of massive fraud.
UN and Afghan election officials spent weeks auditing the results following the allegations of vote fraud while both candidates said they were committed to a power-sharing government regardless of the election outcome.
Abdullah, a former anti-Taliban resistance fighter, is backed by Tajiks and other northern ethnic groups and Ghani, an ex-World Bank economist, draws much of his support from Pashtun tribes of the south and east.
Reports said that according to a draft of the unity government document, the CEO role will become "executive prime minister" in two years' time, which indicated a major change to the way Afghanistan has been ruled since 2001.
An inauguration ceremony to see Ghani replace Karzai as president and swear in Abdullah as the CEO is expected to be held within days. No official announcement on an inauguration timetable has been made yet.
The election commission is set to release official vote totals later Sunday.
MR/AB/SS
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