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         Rival Afghan Presidential Candidates Sign Deal to Share Power

   by Ayaz Gul

   Afghan presidential rivals Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah on Sunday
   signed a power sharing deal to form a "National Unity Government."

   The signing ceremony took place at the presidential palace in Kabul
   with outgoing President Hamid Karzai and Afghan elders as well as
   religious leaders present on the occasion.

   The two candidates shook hands and hugged each other after singing the
   long-awaited political deal. Karzai then briefly addressed the
   gathering and congratulated both Ghani and Abdullah on reaching the
   power sharing arrangement.

   "We hope that you (candidates) can continue the things that the current
   government started," the outgoing president said.  Karzai has been in
   power since the US-led coalition ousted the Taliban from power in late
   2001.

   Karzai added, "We (the government) are not involved in the content of
   the power sharing deal. It is their responsibility. I hope they do what
   I could not."

   The Independent Election Commission is also due to announce the outcome
   of the June 14 presidential runoff vote that is expected to declare
   Ghani the winner.

   However, under the power-sharing deal, the losing candidate will have
   the authority to occupy or appoint his nominee to a newly created chief
   executive office that will work in close collaboration with the new
   president to govern the country. But exact details of the agreement
   have yet to be made public.

   Karzai spokesman Aimal Faizi said Ghani is expected to be sworn in as
   president within a week. He said one of Ghani's first acts would be to
   sign a long-delayed bilateral security agreement with the United States
   to allow a small force of foreign troops to remain in Afghanistan after
   2014.

   The political power-sharing deal was finalized after more than two
   months of tumultuous negotiations between presidential candidates
   collapsed. Negotiators from the two sides met late Saturday with senior
   U.N. officials to write a draft agreement.

   The election crisis has deepened Afghanistan's economic, security and
   ethnic troubles as the U.S.-led military coalition prepares to withdraw
   from the country, leaving Afghan security forces to fight the Taliban
   insurgency.

   The first round of presidential election was held in April and Abdullah
   emerged as the lead candidate, but did not win enough votes to avoid a
   runoff against Ghani, who finished second.

   The preliminary results from the June 14 runoff election put Ghani far
   ahead with 56 percent of the vote. That outcome triggered angry street
   protests from supporters of Abdullah who alleged massive fraud.

   The election tensions prompted U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to
   intervene and mediate a deal between Abdullah and Ghani. Under the
   agreement, a U.N.-supervised comprehensive audit of the runoff vote was
   performed and its results are due to be announced Sunday.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/afghanistan-to-announce-election-audi
   t-results-on-sunday/2456445.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/afghanistan-to-announce-election-audit-results-on-sunday/2456445.html