Kabul: Former finance minister Ashraf Ghani was
declared Afghanistan`s next president on Sunday, hours after signing a
power-sharing deal with his rival Abdullah Abdullah
that ended a prolonged standoff over the disputed result.
The "unity government" deal paves the way for a crucial
bilateral security agreement (BSA) governing the presence of American troops in
Afghanistan beyond
2014, with Washington voicing optimism that it will be signed soon.
Allegations of massive fraud in the June 14 vote sparked a political
crisis as both candidates claimed victory, paralysing the country at a key
moment with US-led troops winding down their 13-year war against the Taliban.
When the "unity government" deal was finally signed, Ghani
embraced Abdullah briefly at a low-key ceremony in the presidential palace that
lasted less than 10 minutes.
Abdullah will become "chief executive officer" (CEO), a role
similar to prime minister -- setting up a tricky balance of power as
Afghanistan enters a new era.
Neither candidate spoke at the palace ceremony, and it remained uncertain when
they would address the nation or when the unity agreement would be officially
published.
"The Independent Election Commission declares Dr Ashraf Ghani as
the president, and thus announces the end of election process," commission
chief Ahmad Yousaf Nuristani later told reporters.
"During the election process fraud was committed from all sides.
That has concerned people."
In a move likely to trigger complaints over transparency, Nuristani
gave no figures for the winning margin, turnout or the number of fraudulent
ballot papers thrown out in an UN-supervised audit that checked every
individual vote.
Ghani was widely acknowledged to be on the brink of the presidency
after coming well ahead in preliminary results released before the audit began.
Under the constitution, the president wields almost total control, and
the new government structure will face a major test as the security and
economic outlook worsens.
"Hamid Karzai wishes the elected president Dr. Ashraf Ghani and
the CEO Dr. Abdullah Abdullah success based on the agreement between
them," said a statement from the outgoing president.The vote count has
been plagued by setbacks amid allegations of massive fraud, emboldening the
Taliban insurgents and further weakening the aid-dependent economy.
As tensions rose in Kabul, the United Nations and United States pushed
hard for a "unity government" to avoid a return to the ethnic
divisions of the 1990s civil war, which ended with the Taliban taking power in
1996.
A ruling coalition between opposing camps is likely to be uneasy.
Abdullah, a former anti-Taliban resistance fighter and foreign
minister, draws his support from Tajiks and other northern ethnic groups.
Ghani, an ex-World Bank economist, is backed by Pashtun tribes of the south and
east.
"There will be two powers in the government, and it will be very
difficult for them to work together," Sediq Mansoor Ansari, an analyst and
director of the Civil Societies Federation, told AFP.
"I think the people of Afghanistan will wonder about their votes,
and how their votes have been played with."
The future of Afghanistan`s relationship with the US-led NATO alliance
will also be high on the agenda after Karzai refused to sign a security pact
with Washington to ensure a foreign military presence after this year.
The White House welcomed the election result and the power-sharing
deal, which it said "helps bring closure to Afghanistan`s political
crisis".
"We look forward to... the conclusion of the Bilateral Security
Agreement (BSA)," it added in a statement.
The "unity government... offers a huge opportunity for progress in
Afghanistan, for the signing of the BSA in a week or so," said US
Secretary of State John Kerry.
According to a copy of the unity government document seen by AFP, the
CEO could become the official prime minister in two years` time -- a major
change to the strongly presidential style of government forged by Karzai since
2001.
Dividing up other government posts could also create friction after the
long and mercurial reign of Karzai, who built up a nationwide network of
patronage.
The UN`s country director Jan Kubis lauded Sunday`s announcements, but
warned that "for the sake of the country, it is time to quickly implement
the agreement".
The new administration will have to stabilise the dire economy as
international aid falls, and deal with worsening unrest.
About 41,000 NATO troops remain in Afghanistan fighting the fierce
Taliban insurgency alongside Afghan soldiers and police.
NATO`s combat mission will end in December, with a follow-on force of
about 12,000 troops likely to stay into 2015 on training and support duties.
A spokesman for Abdullah said August 29 had been pencilled in for the
inauguration.
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