Pre-poll national consensus to salvage Afghans: Ahadi

JALALABAD (PAN): A key member of the Afghan Millat Party and the Minister of Commerce and Industries, Dr. Anwarul Haq Ahadi, on Saturday said some political parties have launched efforts at creating a pre-election national consensus to ensure a peaceful transfer of power.

“Some groups in Kabul are working and talking about national consensus before next presidential elections to keep the country from plunging into a new political chaos,” Ahadi told Pajhwok Afghan News during an interview.

He said national consensus, if reached, would result into a fewer number of candidates jumping into the presidential fray, something he hoped would guarantee a peaceful transfer of power to a future government.

However, he said if the consensus could not be reached, the elections should be transparent at any cost because the vote was crucial to keeping the country from slipping into a new crisis.

He warned if the ballot was rigged it could lead to new crisis that could not be easily brought under control given the current so many challenges facing the country.

Ahadi said some international donor agencies and countries had threatened to stop assisting Afghanistan if next elections were not fair and free.

“Security will remain a key factor to challenge holding fair and transparent elections. The government should shift polling centres from insecure areas to nearby relatively peaceful parts,” he suggested.

He also acknowledged that the government had not been able to overcome problems hindering the issuance of new computerised ID cards.

myn /ma

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