Saturday, July 12, 2014

Afghan presidential rivals reach deal, brokered by Kerry, on a unity government --- KABUL — Rival contenders in the Afghan presidential runoff have reached a grand agreement to solve a weeks-long political crisis, including the audit of all of the votes cast the election last month, Secretary of State John F. Kerry said in Kabul on Saturday. -- The dispute between the two candidates over widespread fraud had threatened Afghanistan’s first democratic transfer of power, just months before foreign troops are set to withdraw. -- U.N. and international observers, as well as observers from each campaign, will preside over the inspection of 8 million votes transferred to Kabul, the capital, from all of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces. The recount, which is to begin within 24 hours, will take “many weeks,” Kerry said. -- The winner will then form a national consensus government, he said. --- Both candidates — ex-foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah and former World Bank executive Ashraf Ghani — joined Kerry in making the announcement in Kabul on Saturday night following at least 20 hours of meetings over the past two days. -- “This job will not be done until Afghanistan’s leaders certify an election and honor the determination of millions of Afghans to make their voices heard,” Kerry said. -- The incumbent president, Hamid Karzai, has been asked to postpone the presidential inauguration scheduled for Aug. 2. Ghani noted that Karzai has agreed to stay on as president until the new government is formed. - More, Erin Cunningham, http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/afghan-presidential-rivals-reach-deal-brokered-by-kerry-on-a-unity-government/2014/07/12/2521eb24-09fb-11e4-a0dd-f2b22a257353_story.html?hpid=z1

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