Secretary of State John Kerry has hailed the “extraordinary statesmanship” of the two Afghan leaders who inked a power-sharing agreement this weekend.
Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, who has been named the winner of the presidential election, will become the new president, replacing outgoing President Hamid Karzai. Meanwhile Abdullah Abdullah, the runner-up, will become chief executive. Vote totals aren’t being released, the Associated Press reported Sunday.
“These two men have put the people of Afghanistan first, and they’ve ensured that the first peaceful democratic transition in the history of their country begins with national unity,” Kerry said in a statement.
Rival factions have argued for months over who would lead the nation next. Election results were questioned due to allegations of voter fraud.
“I am very happy today that both of my brothers, Dr. Ashraf Ghani and Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, in an Afghan agreement for the benefit of this country, for the progress and development of this country, that they agreed on the structure affirming the new government of Afghanistan,” Karzai said at the agreement signing ceremony, according to the Associated Press.
Complicating matters, the political tension occurred while the United States has been preparing to withdraw the last of its troops from the war-torn country.
“Americans know very well that the road to democracy is contentious and challenging, but it’s a road that leads to the best place,” Kerry said. “It doesn’t happen overnight. We’ve had our own contentious elections and witnessed their aftermath. I’ve lived some of them. But if my recent visits to Kabul and the hours upon hours on the phone with these two men have taught me anything, it’s how invested Afghanistan is in this historic effort.”
