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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.

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