Ashraf Ghani, the former World Bank technocrat and prominent intellectual, on Monday became Afghanistan’s new president in a rare peaceful transfer of power in the country’s four decades of war.
His inauguration came under a dark cloud, however, dogged by fraud allegations that were so serious he was forced to accept a power-sharing arrangement with his opponent, the official runner-up, Abdullah Abdullah. Even that deal nearly collapsed at the last minute, as Mr. Abdullah threatened to pull out of the inauguration ceremony over a series of disputes, including an unseemly fight over office space in the presidential palace.
In what has been a characteristic of the six-month wrangle over the Afghan presidential elections, representatives of both camps met late into the night to iron out their differences so that they could present a united front at the inauguration.
The ceremony was mostly attended by low-level delegations from Afghanistan’s international supporters, including the United States, which sent two of President Obama’s advisers along with the American ambassador, James B. Cunningham, and the American military commander, Gen. John F. Campbell. Pakistan was apparently the only country to send a head of state, President Mamnoon Hussain, despite the deeply strained relations between the two neighbors.
Mr. Abdullah did attend the inauguration. As soon as Mr. Ghani took the oath of office, he issued a decree appointing Mr. Abdullah the chief executive of his government. Both men must soon begin the difficult process of agreeing on cabinet ministers and other positions on the basis of “parity,” according to an American-brokered agreement they signed on forming the national unity government.
The new government was expected to move quickly to make formal a bilateral security agreement with the United States, which Hamid Karzai, the outgoing president, negotiated but refused to sign. Both Mr. Ghani and Mr. Abdullah support the agreement. The signing ceremony is expected to happen on Tuesday, with a similar agreement with NATO scheduled to be signed afterward. The agreements call for a continued American and coalition military presence in Afghanistan after the end of 2014.
Hopeful notes were sounded at the inauguration ceremony. Mr. Ghani spoke at length in his address about the need to fight corruption and to bring more women and young people into the government.
In sharp contrast to Mr. Karzai, Mr. Ghani said that his wife, Rula, whom he met while they were students together at the American University of Beirut, would take part in public life. “My wife has worked a lot for refugees and will continue working for them,” he said. Mrs. Ghani was in the audience on Monday; Mr. Karzai’s wife was almost never seen in public.
