Holding a presidential election in Afghanistan only months before the withdrawal of Western combat forces was bound to be risky-even before one of the candidates, Abdullah Abdullah, reacted to preliminary results showing a suspiciously big lead for his opponent, Ashraf Ghani, by alleging "industrial-scale" fraud. The political crisis could have plunged the country into chaos and even war. Yet this dangerous moment could turn out to be oddly productive. Disaster has been averted thanks to the banging-to-gether of heads by America's secretary of state, John Kerry, and to the good sense of the presidential candidates, who stared into the abyss and retreated. Their deal points towards a political structure that should work better than the current one.
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