Key facts from Afghanistan's unity govt deal

Kabul: Afghanistan’s three-month stalemate over disputed presidential election results ended Sunday with poll rivals Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah signing a deal to form a “national unity government”. Many questions have been raised over how power will be shared, but the deal emerged from emergency talks led by US Secretary of State John Kerry when the dispute appeared at risk of triggering a return to the civil war of the 1990s. [caption id=“attachment_1724083” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Abdullah Abdullah (left) and Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai (right). AP[/caption] Here are the key points from a leaked copy of the agreement, which will see Ghani become the next president and Abdullah nominating who takes up the new post of CEO: – A loya jirga (grand assembly) will be held in two years’ time to amend the constitution and discuss creating a new role of prime minister, who will serve under the president. – Until the constitution is changed by the loya jirga, a CEO (chief executive officer) will be appointed and will be the acting prime minister. – The CEO will be named by the second candidate in the election results and appointed after approval by the president. – The president will lead the cabinet, and the CEO will lead weekly cabinet meetings. – The president and the CEO will have equal share in security, economic, independent institutions, and in the national security council. – Election reform will be enacted before parliamentary elections next year, along with an electronic identity card system being introduced to avoid the fraud scandals of recent votes. AFP