The fragile Afghan power-sharing arrangement brokered by the US on Thursday sustained a serious blow when Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah denounced his governing partner, President Ashraf Ghani, as unfit to govern.
Abdullah, addressing a group of young people in his office garden, said that he had struggled to achieve progress with Ghani during the two years of their government on the issue of electoral reform, one of his conditions for the power-sharing agreement that was brokered by US Secretary of State John Kerry after the disastrous election dispute in 2014.
The agreement, which prevented a clash that could have torn the country apart, made Ghani president and Abdullah chief executive, and gave him equal say in governmental appointments.
Abdullah accused Ghani of making decisions unilaterally and of failing to consult him on appointments.
He also said he had made little progress with Ghani on electoral reform.
“Over a period of three months, you don’t have time to see your chief executive one-on-one for even an hour or two?” he said, addressing Ghani. “What does your highness spend your time on?”
“There are arguments in any government, but if someone does not have the patience for discussion, then they are not fit for the presidency, either,” he added.
Under the agreement worked out by Kerry, the government is supposed to hold parliamentary elections and enact sweeping electoral changes by the end of next month, a deadline that is not expected to be met.
Political opposition groups are mounting pressure over the failure to hold parliamentary elections, with some demanding a grand council of elders to decide on the government’s legitimacy.
A Ghani spokesman declined to comment on Abdullah’s remarks.
The public falling-out occurred as the Taliban encroached on Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand Province, from multiple directions, cutting off the main roads.
On Wednesday night, Afghan forces barely fended off a Taliban advance on the district of Nawa, just south of Lashkar Gah.
More than 3,000 families have been displaced by fighting over the past two weeks, officials in Helmand said.
Advisers to Abdullah said his comments resulted from a growing series of frustrations.
They said Abdullah thought Ghani had increasingly taken advantage of his concessions to the point that he no longer even consulted him on major appointments.
Abdullah was particularly upset when Ghani appointed as ambassador to Spain a former election chief whom Abdullah had accused of election fraud.
Another appointment that drew Abdullah’s ire was the selection of Ghani’s elderly uncle as ambassador to Russia, the advisers said.
“The government will not go ahead this way,” said Afghan Member of Parliament Mirwais Yasini, who is close to Abdhullah. “Dr Abdullah was forced to say what he said today because President Ghani is not consulting him on anything. Dr Abdullah was forced to say these things today as the country is headed in a very risky direction that it could sink.”
However, some analysts said that Abdullah had become isolated not only from the government, but also from his own constituency.
They viewed his outburst as a desperate bid to regain support.
Many analysts said they were surprised by the bluntness of his comments, particularly at a time when the Taliban appeared to be making significant inroads.
Abdullah said that the government had been unable to recover the bodies of soldiers who had been under siege for seven days.
Haroun Mir, a political analyst in Kabul, said that much of Abdullah’s support during the messy 2014 elections had come from Jamiat, one of the country’s largest parties with a strong base in the north.
Party leaders were disappointed when Abdullah agreed to the power-sharing deal with Ghani. More recently, they have criticized him increasingly for failing to challenge Ghani on various matters.
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