KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Somber and reflective, Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah says his country was on the verge of a “very serious, serious situation” before he struck a U.S.-brokered deal with his rival to avert the crisis by holding a fully audited vote count.

The ex-foreign minister, who is in a deadlocked contest to succeed Hamid Karzai, told The Associated Press in an interview Tuesday that he holds out hope that the outcome will bring Afghanistan closer to his vision of a country ruled by democratic institutions and laws.