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US says Afghan presidential poll loser will play role in government

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ANI Washington
Last Updated : Jul 15 2014 | 7:10 PM IST

The United States says whatever the outcome of Afghanistan's presidential election audit, the candidate who does not have the most votes will play a formal role in the new government.

Though a senior U.S. administration official did not confirm the structure of a national unity government, he told media hat no constituency would be cut out of the governing process.

According to a report that has been published in the latest edition of Strategic Foresight, said a deal had been mediated by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday, rival Afghan presidential candidates Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani agreed to a full U.N.-supervised audit of the entire runoff poll and committed to abide by the final results.

The U.S. official said candidates also agreed to a framework that would move Afghanistan "away from the brink of turmoil" towards lasting unity and stability.

The New York Times reported the framework included the future creation of a parliamentary democracy with a prime minister as head of government and a president as head of state.

In an interview with VOA Afghan Service Monday, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said he begrudgingly accepted the election deal brokered by Kerry.

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Karzai told VOA in Kabul that he vehemently opposed a constitutional amendment to change Afghanistan's government system to parliamentary.

Millions of Afghans took part in the first round of presidential elections April 5, defying threats of violence by the Taliban while election authorities claimed the turnout was even higher in the June 14 runoff vote. Abdullah led the first round but trails in preliminary second round results that put Ghani in the lead by about one million votes.

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First Published: Jul 15 2014 | 6:58 PM IST

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