Afghan leader will cede minimum in power-sharing deal
Friday, May 22, 2020
Subject
A new power-sharing deal in Afghanistan.
Significance
A coalition deal between President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani and his chief rival Abdullah Abdullah, who refused to acknowledge Ghani's victory in the September 2019 election, provides for power-sharing in government and a path to direct negotiations with the Taliban. It is a calculated compromise by Abdullah, who had himself inaugurated as an alternative president in March and claimed to be forming a government.
Impacts
- There is no guarantee a new cabinet will focus more effectively on pressing challenges such as security, livelihoods and COVID-19.
- US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad's role in mediating the political truce will bolster his position in Washington.
- The second phase of the US troop withdrawal may go ahead on the assumption that political harmony has been restored in Kabul.