By . Corey Charlton for MailOnline . President-elect Ashraf Ghani (pictured) will succeed Hamid Karzai, who has been in power since the Taliban was ousted in 2001 . Former finance minister Ashraf Ghani has been named Afghanistan's president-elect after he signed a deal to share power with his opponent - ending months of turmoil which has destabilized the nation. The announcement withheld the final election numbers, apparently as part of the political deal between Ghani and rival Abdullah Abdullah, a former foreign minister who claimed the process was rigged against him. 'The Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan declares Dr. Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai as the president of Afghanistan,' commission chief Ahmad Yousuf Nuristani said. He added the full results would be provided at a later date, but did not specify when. He acknowledged deep flaws in the June 14 run-off vote and said a U.N.-supervised audit was not adequate to weed out all the vote-rigging. 'Although the audit was comprehensive (it) could not detect or throw out fraud completely.' Under the terms of the unity government deal signed on Sunday, Ghani will share power with a chief executive proposed by Abdullah. The two will share control over who leads key institutions such as the Afghan army and other executive decisions. The new administration faces huge challenges in fighting an emboldened Taliban-led insurgency and paying its bills amid plummeting tax revenue. The crisis has further destabilized Afghanistan just as the US-led military coalition prepares to withdraw most foreign troops at the end in the year, leaving Afghan forces to fight the Taliban insurgency. Teams from both sides had met late into Saturday night with United Nations representatives to try to finalize a power-sharing deal before today's scheduled announcement of the final election results after a U.N.-monitored audit and recount. Although the results of the audit have not been released, both Ghani and Abdullah had claimed to have won the fraud-tainted election, and the United Nations has pushed hard for a 'national unity government' to avoid a return to the ethnic divisions of the 1990s civil war. The last sticking point was how to announce the results of the audit. Aides and officials have said candidate Abdullah, a former foreign minister, had insisted that the official percentages either not be made public at all or be altered to give him more votes. Abdullah, left, and Ghani, right, signing the power sharing agreement at the presidential palace in Kabul today . The two shake hands after the prolonged standoff following the election, during which both sides accused the other of fraud . 'Both camps have agreed 100 percent on everything and we'll sign the deal tomorrow. Everything has been initialed and there is no disagreement on anything,' said Faizullah Zaki, a spokesman for Ghani. Mujib Rahimi, spokesman for Abdullah, also confirmed a deal had finally been struck, but did not give any details. Preliminary figures released in July put Ghani, a longtime World Bank official, ahead with 56 percent of the vote, prompting street protests from supporters of Abdullah, who alleged massive fraud and said he was the rightful winner. The final sticking point in negotiations was over an audit of official polling figures and whether they should be made public . A ruling coalition between the opposing camps is likely to be uneasy after a bitter election that has revived some of the ethnic loyalties of the civil war that led to the Taliban taking power in Kabul in the 1990s. Abdullah, a former anti-Taliban resistance fighter, draws his support from Tajiks and other northern ethnic groups. Ghani, an ex-World Bank economist, is backed by Pashtun tribes of the south and east. But Ghani's spokesman said the power-sharing pact had been secured and that details would be released at a signing ceremony on Sunday, without giving a time. After the June run-off election was engulfed in fraud allegations, the United States brokered a deal in which the two candidates agreed to abide by the outcome of an audit of all eight million ballot papers and then form a national unity government. But Abdullah later abandoned the audit, saying it was failing to clean out fraud. He won April's first round, only to see Ghani come from well behind and win in June. The new administration will have to stabilise the economy as international aid falls, and deal with worsening unrest nationwide. Efforts to open a peace process with the Taliban failed under Karzai and may be revived. A total of 2,312 civilians were killed in the first eight months of this year, an increase of 15 percent from 2013. About 41,000 NATO troops remain in Afghanistan, down from a peak of 150,000 in 2010, fighting alongside Afghan soldiers and police against the fierce Taliban insurgency. NATO's combat mission will end in December, with a follow-on force of about 12,000 troops likely to stay into 2015 on training and support duties. The dispute ruined hopes for a smooth democratic transition to replace Karzai, who has held power since the Taliban's hardline Islamist government was ousted in 2001 with U.S. military support, and threatened to rekindle the ethnic tensions that had plunged Afghanistan into civil war in the 1990s. Abdullah derives much of his support from the ethnic Tajik and Hazara communities, while Ghani is widely supported by the Pashtuns, the largest ethnic group. Final election results have been delayed for weeks to await an audit of all 8 million ballots cast in the June 14 run-off vote between Ghani and Abdullah, the top finishers in the first round in April. The audit was part of a deal brokered in July by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to try to avert a descent into violence. Afghanistan's presidential election candidate Ashraf Ghani, right, leaves after signing a power-sharing deal as outgoing president Hamid Karzai, left, stands at the presidential palace in Kabul . The accord signed today is the finalisation of a broader power-sharing structure brokered by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who swiftly welcomed its signing. 'These two men have put the people of Afghanistan first, and they've ensured that the first peaceful democratic transition in the history of their country begins with national unity.' One of Ghani's first acts would be to sign a long-delayed bilateral security agreement with the United States, as he has previously declared support for the pact to allow a small force of foreign troops to remain in Afghanistan after 2014. There is a risk that any instability could be exploited by neighbours, like Pakistan, whose past involvement in Afghan affairs have played a part in the conflicts that have dogged Afghanistan for decades. 'A difficult and challenged unity structure is still preferable to conflict between these two groups,' said a U.S. official in Kabul. Abdullah (left) and Ghani pictured at the ceremony which confirmed their power sharing agreement what was the first democratic transition of power in the country's history . 'Having them both working together within the government and direct their energies toward positive reform is again preferable to some of the alternatives.' Abdullah's accusations that the run-off election was rigged in Ghani's favour had raised fears of ethnic violence, which could have ignited a broader conflict. 'A spark could have dealt a strong blow to the political process, if today's deal had not happened,' commented Waliullah Rahmani, director of the Kabul Center for Strategic Studies. 'But, we have crossed that moment.' Ghani is expected to be sworn in as president in about a week, according to Karzai's spokesman Aimal Faizi. The settlement will also come as a relief for Afghans, who have watched the tortuous process play out since they first voted in April. Hamid Karzai has ruled since soon after the Taliban government was ousted by U.S.-backed Afghan forces in late 2001, and the drawn-out election was meant to mark the first democratic transfer of power in Afghanistan's troubled history. 'Afghanistan will now be able to move forward for the next five years, even though it is not an ideal government,' Rahmani said.
Rival candidates finally reach a power sharing deal after months of tension .
But announcement withheld full polling results after accusations of fraud .
Political crisis had destablised Afghanistan as coalition prepares to withdraw .
Both sides had accused the other of fraud during the political standoff .
By . Corey Charlton for MailOnline . President-elect Ashraf Ghani (pictured) will succeed Hamid Karzai, who has been in power since the Taliban was ousted in 2001 . Former finance minister Ashraf Ghani has been named Afghanistan's president-elect after he signed a deal to share power with his opponent - ending months of turmoil which has destabilized the nation. The announcement withheld the final election numbers, apparently as part of the political deal between Ghani and rival Abdullah Abdullah, a former foreign minister who claimed the process was rigged against him. 'The Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan declares Dr. Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai as the president of Afghanistan,' commission chief Ahmad Yousuf Nuristani said. He added the full results would be provided at a later date, but did not specify when. He acknowledged deep flaws in the June 14 run-off vote and said a U.N.-supervised audit was not adequate to weed out all the vote-rigging. 'Although the audit was comprehensive (it) could not detect or throw out fraud completely.' Under the terms of the unity government deal signed on Sunday, Ghani will share power with a chief executive proposed by Abdullah. The two will share control over who leads key institutions such as the Afghan army and other executive decisions. The new administration faces huge challenges in fighting an emboldened Taliban-led insurgency and paying its bills amid plummeting tax revenue. The crisis has further destabilized Afghanistan just as the US-led military coalition prepares to withdraw most foreign troops at the end in the year, leaving Afghan forces to fight the Taliban insurgency. Teams from both sides had met late into Saturday night with United Nations representatives to try to finalize a power-sharing deal before today's scheduled announcement of the final election results after a U.N.-monitored audit and recount. Although the results of the audit have not been released, both Ghani and Abdullah had claimed to have won the fraud-tainted election, and the United Nations has pushed hard for a 'national unity government' to avoid a return to the ethnic divisions of the 1990s civil war. The last sticking point was how to announce the results of the audit. Aides and officials have said candidate Abdullah, a former foreign minister, had insisted that the official percentages either not be made public at all or be altered to give him more votes. Abdullah, left, and Ghani, right, signing the power sharing agreement at the presidential palace in Kabul today . The two shake hands after the prolonged standoff following the election, during which both sides accused the other of fraud . 'Both camps have agreed 100 percent on everything and we'll sign the deal tomorrow. Everything has been initialed and there is no disagreement on anything,' said Faizullah Zaki, a spokesman for Ghani. Mujib Rahimi, spokesman for Abdullah, also confirmed a deal had finally been struck, but did not give any details. Preliminary figures released in July put Ghani, a longtime World Bank official, ahead with 56 percent of the vote, prompting street protests from supporters of Abdullah, who alleged massive fraud and said he was the rightful winner. The final sticking point in negotiations was over an audit of official polling figures and whether they should be made public . A ruling coalition between the opposing camps is likely to be uneasy after a bitter election that has revived some of the ethnic loyalties of the civil war that led to the Taliban taking power in Kabul in the 1990s. Abdullah, a former anti-Taliban resistance fighter, draws his support from Tajiks and other northern ethnic groups. Ghani, an ex-World Bank economist, is backed by Pashtun tribes of the south and east. But Ghani's spokesman said the power-sharing pact had been secured and that details would be released at a signing ceremony on Sunday, without giving a time. After the June run-off election was engulfed in fraud allegations, the United States brokered a deal in which the two candidates agreed to abide by the outcome of an audit of all eight million ballot papers and then form a national unity government. But Abdullah later abandoned the audit, saying it was failing to clean out fraud. He won April's first round, only to see Ghani come from well behind and win in June. The new administration will have to stabilise the economy as international aid falls, and deal with worsening unrest nationwide. Efforts to open a peace process with the Taliban failed under Karzai and may be revived. A total of 2,312 civilians were killed in the first eight months of this year, an increase of 15 percent from 2013. About 41,000 NATO troops remain in Afghanistan, down from a peak of 150,000 in 2010, fighting alongside Afghan soldiers and police against the fierce Taliban insurgency. NATO's combat mission will end in December, with a follow-on force of about 12,000 troops likely to stay into 2015 on training and support duties. The dispute ruined hopes for a smooth democratic transition to replace Karzai, who has held power since the Taliban's hardline Islamist government was ousted in 2001 with U.S. military support, and threatened to rekindle the ethnic tensions that had plunged Afghanistan into civil war in the 1990s. Abdullah derives much of his support from the ethnic Tajik and Hazara communities, while Ghani is widely supported by the Pashtuns, the largest ethnic group. Final election results have been delayed for weeks to await an audit of all 8 million ballots cast in the June 14 run-off vote between Ghani and Abdullah, the top finishers in the first round in April. The audit was part of a deal brokered in July by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to try to avert a descent into violence. Afghanistan's presidential election candidate Ashraf Ghani, right, leaves after signing a power-sharing deal as outgoing president Hamid Karzai, left, stands at the presidential palace in Kabul . The accord signed today is the finalisation of a broader power-sharing structure brokered by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who swiftly welcomed its signing. 'These two men have put the people of Afghanistan first, and they've ensured that the first peaceful democratic transition in the history of their country begins with national unity.' One of Ghani's first acts would be to sign a long-delayed bilateral security agreement with the United States, as he has previously declared support for the pact to allow a small force of foreign troops to remain in Afghanistan after 2014. There is a risk that any instability could be exploited by neighbours, like Pakistan, whose past involvement in Afghan affairs have played a part in the conflicts that have dogged Afghanistan for decades. 'A difficult and challenged unity structure is still preferable to conflict between these two groups,' said a U.S. official in Kabul. Abdullah (left) and Ghani pictured at the ceremony which confirmed their power sharing agreement what was the first democratic transition of power in the country's history . 'Having them both working together within the government and direct their energies toward positive reform is again preferable to some of the alternatives.' Abdullah's accusations that the run-off election was rigged in Ghani's favour had raised fears of ethnic violence, which could have ignited a broader conflict. 'A spark could have dealt a strong blow to the political process, if today's deal had not happened,' commented Waliullah Rahmani, director of the Kabul Center for Strategic Studies. 'But, we have crossed that moment.' Ghani is expected to be sworn in as president in about a week, according to Karzai's spokesman Aimal Faizi. The settlement will also come as a relief for Afghans, who have watched the tortuous process play out since they first voted in April. Hamid Karzai has ruled since soon after the Taliban government was ousted by U.S.-backed Afghan forces in late 2001, and the drawn-out election was meant to mark the first democratic transfer of power in Afghanistan's troubled history. 'Afghanistan will now be able to move forward for the next five years, even though it is not an ideal government,' Rahmani said.
months of turmoil which has destabilized the nation. The announcement withheld the final US-led military coalition prepares to withdraw announcement of the final election results after standoff following the election, during which both sides accused the other of fraud . 'Both confirmed a deal had finally been struck, but did power sharing agreement what was the first