Months after controversial conflict-causing elections in the middle-eastern area of Afghanistan, President Ashraf Ghani and his main opposition, Abdullah Abdullah, have signed a power-sharing agreement. This agreement seeks to put an end to a bitter feud and confusing political structure that saw both candidates from the September 2019 presidential elections declare themselves winners of the poll.
Against the backdrop of rising numbers of confirmed coronavirus infections and raging militant violence, this agreement seeks to unite the country as it makes plans to go into negotiations and safeguard the health of its people. Both Ghani and Abdullah have been locked in a power struggle since September 2019 and the discord prompted the Trump administration to announce it would cut $1 billion in assistance to Afghanistan if the two weren’t able to work out their differences.
“Doctor Abdullah will lead the National Reconciliation High Commission and members of his team will be included in the cabinet,” Sediq Sediqqi, spokesman for Ghani, wrote on Twitter.
A further breakdown of the deal shows that Ghani will remain the president of the war-torn nation, while as Chief Executive Officer, Abdullah will run the National Reconciliation Commission, with the authority to handle and approve all affairs related to peace talks in Afghanistan, as well as appointing half of Ghani’s cabinet.
Abdullah and Ghani both contested in the 2014 presidential elections with both candidates claiming victory at the polls. The issue in 2014 was rectified when then US Secretary of State John Kerry brokered a deal between both of them. Following the elections on September 28, 2019, the country’s election commission announced that Ghani had won with 50 per cent of the votes, while Abdullah had secured around 29 per cent. However, Abdullah and the Elections Complaint Commission alleged widespread voting irregularities. Both candidates went as far as holding two different inauguration ceremonies in March, further complicating issues for Afghanistan and its people.
