AP INTERVIEW: Candidate Abdullah says US-brokered deal pulled Afghanistan from brink of crisis
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah says Afghanistan was on the verge of a "very, very serious situation" before he struck a U.S.-brokered deal with his rival to avert the crisis by holding a fully audited vote count.
The ex-foreign minister, who is competing against Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai to succeed Hamid Karzai as president, spoke to The Associated Press Tuesday in an interview.
He was responding to a report that some supporters were ready to seize the presidential palace by force before the deal because they feared the June 14 runoff was being decided fraudulently.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
"I wouldn't get into the details of it -- but it was a very serious, serious situation, not just in Kabul but throughout the country," said Abdullah, an opposition leader with strong support in northern Afghanistan.