Afghan president, rival close in on power-sharing deal

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, his rival in the disputed presidential election, are close to finalizing a power-sharing deal to end a political stalemate in the war-torn nation, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Discussions over a couple of key posts were still underway, but an agreement could be signed as early as Sunday afternoon, the sources said.

“Overall both teams have reached an agreement based on which they will have 50% share in the government. The thing that is still under debate right now is about which ministry should go to whom,” said one of the sources.

Abdullah had disputed the results of the September 2019 election, and went on to announce the formation of a parallel government earlier this year, undermining Ghani’s administration at a time when the United States was trying to advance a peace process with the Taliban movement to end the 19-year Afghan war.