KABUL, Afghanistan -- The United States and other powers struggled Saturday to persuade Afghan President Hamid Karzai to accept a deal to resolve the dispute over the country's tainted presidential election and avert a political crisis that could spark civil unrest and jeopardize the U.S.-led fight against the Taliban-led insurgency.

The Afghan leader's closest challenger, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, told U.S. officials earlier this week that he would agree to a deal under certain conditions, said three U.S. officials, who all requested anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly.

Under the plan, Karzai would accept the fact that when fraudulent votes are thrown out, he failed to win more than half the vote in the Aug. 20 election.

In return, Abdullah, the second-place finisher, would forgo a runoff by withdrawing and endorsing a Karzai-led unity government that included some of his allies, the officials said. Karzai also would have to pursue key political reforms to root out official corruption and improve public services.

``If you can mediate a settlement which leads to a stronger and more unified government, our sense is that that would be a means of garnering the most significant support by the Afghan people and enhancing the perceived legitimacy of that government,'' said a senior Obama administration official in Washington.

The war in Afghanistan entered its ninth year this month, with U.S. commanders acknowledging that the 100,000-strong U.S.-led international contingent and Afghan security forces are at risk of losing. A recent U.S. intelligence assessment estimated that there now are at least 25,000 full-time Islamist guerrillas in Afghanistan, 20 percent more than a year ago.

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