Afghan presidential candidates express concerns over polls, demand security, transparency

Presidential candidate of Afghanistan Shaida Mohammad Abdali on Tuesday called on the National Unity Government (NUG) leaders and country's political elites to hold a 'national meeting' to make a decision on the upcoming election.

Abdali, along with other presidential candidates said that the Afghan government and the Independent Election Commission (IEC) are not ready for holding the upcoming presidential election scheduled for September 28, citing insecurity as the main hurdle for the process, Tolo News reported.

Presidential candidate Shaida Mohammad Abdali also said that the peace talks and insecurity have affected the preparations for the presidential polls.

"Only a few days have remained for election. It was expected that the election will be held after peace, but today we see that there is no full preparation for the elections to be held within the next two weeks," Abdali said.

Seventeen candidates, including President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, are running for president in the Afghan elections.

"We want transparent elections. We want fair elections. Security should be guaranteed. The international community should give assurances," presidential candidate Mohammad Ibrahimi Alokozai said.

"I can assure you that the elections will be postponed. Neither the government is ready for it nor the Election Commission," another presidential candidate Mohammad Hakim Torsan said.

IEC's numbers indicate that close to nine million people have registered to vote in the presidential election.