Afghan presidential candidate says government formation talks 'deadlocked'

KABUL, Afghanistan, Sept. 8 (UPI) -- As the results of Afghanistan's presidential vote audit are expected to be announced within days, presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah announced Monday "The political process has reached a deadlock."

Both Abdullah and his rival, Ashraf Ghani, claim to have won the disputed June 14 run-off election. The candidates have expressed concern about election fraud and the recount process.

The audit was agreed to last month, and will determine which candidate succeeds Hamid Karzai. Abdullah and Ghani have agreed to serve together in a national unity government, but have not yet agreed to the terms for doing so.

Abdullah, a former foreign minister, wants to share power equally with Ghani while Ghani, a former finance minister, believes the winner of the election should be the one with the most power.

The impasse led to threats of withdrawal from government formation discussions last week, prompting President Barack Obama to call Abdullah and Ghani on Saturday. According to the White House, "The President emphasized the importance of concluding a deal on the national unity government as soon as possible in the interest of shoring up international support for Afghanistan and preserving Afghan stability."

On Monday, Abdullah reiterated that he does not want the results of the audit publicly released, insisting "The future of an Afghanistan that will be a viable partner with the international community... cannot be based on the foundation of fraud, on a fraudulent government."

U.N. special representative for Afghanistan Jan Kubis informed Karzai late last month that election results would likely be made public on September 10.

Preliminary election results showed Ghani in the lead with 56.44 percent of the vote, and Abdullah Abdullah trailing behind with 43.56 percent.