KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghanistan's two presidential candidates have signed a power-sharing deal for the roles of president and chief executive three months after a disputed runoff that threatened to plunge the country into turmoil and complicate the withdrawal of U.S. and other foreign troops. Ashraf Ghani, who will become president, and Abdullah Abdullah signed the national unity government deal as outgoing President Hamid Karzai watched.
The deal follows weeks of negotiations on a power-sharing arrangement following accusations of fraud in the June runoff vote. The deal is a victory for U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who first got the candidates to agree in principle to share power during a July visit. The inauguration to replace Karzai — who has been in power since late 2001 — is expected within days.
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