KABUL - The teams of the two presidential hopefuls on Monday took time to assure the public that the crisis-avoiding agreements made last week with help from the United Nations and U.S. would never be abandoned.

Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai and Abdullah Abdullah each agreed to a comprehensive vote audit as well as the formation of a "national unity government" once the election is over. The accord between the two men came after weeks of rising tensions between their supporters over alleged fraud in the election. Although there have been some delays in the auditing process and differences of interpretation over what exactly a "national unity government" means, the candidates have emphasized their resolve to cooperate.

Ashraf Ghani's Deputy Spokesman Tahir Zuhair said disagreements over the vote auditing would never impact the political agreements between the candidates.

"The agreement that was made between the candidates through the mediation of the U.S. Secretary of State and in the presence of the UN envoy is irreversible and it is 100 percent sure," Zuhair said. "The 100 percent vote auditing process has started and the formation of the national unity government will happen after the vote auditing, agreement has been made over these two points."

Abdullah's camp has indicated the agreement is seen by them as a necessary strategic one, with its support of the international community. They have asserted that the structure of the next government will be formed on the basis of the same agreement.

"Our perspective on the agreement is a strategic and long term perspective, however, the priority is the outcomes of the elections and we don't want the process to lose integrity," Abdullah spokesman Syed Fazil Aqa Sancharaki said. "Whatever the election results may be, the political agreement is in place and the political structure would be shaped on the basis of this agreement, disagreements and misinterpretations will not affect the future of the agreements."

Election monitoring groups have acknowledged some differences of opinion over the cooperation between the candidates and the next steps in the process, but also maintained that such problems are to be expected and that there are enough guarantees in place to ensure the agreement is honored.

"Coming out of the crisis was very important for both candidates and the political agreement was quite significant in tackling and seeking settlement to the crisis," said Nadir Naderi, the head of the Free and Fair Election Forum of Afghanistan. "Both teams want to present a responsible leader, for these reasons, there are guarantees that could ensure implementation of the agreements."

Both teams have confirmed that negotiations over the implementation of the agreements have been finalized. But details of their accord have yet to be disclosed. If the agreement is indeed finalized, the choice not to make its contents public raises questions.

However, Abdullah's team has said that on the basis of the agreement with Ashraf Ghani, a Loya Jirga will be organized to change the presidential system into a parliamentary system at some point down the line, which will allow for great power-sharing in the next government.

A parliamentary system of government comprises a President and a Prime Minister, rather than just a President as is the case now. (Tolonews)