Former Afghan PM Hekmatyar to Join Presidential Race
MOSCOW (Dispatches) – Former Afghan prime minister, warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar on Saturday announced that he will run in the country's presidential elections in July 2019, Afghanistan's 1TV channel reported.
The channel reported, citing Hekmatyar, that the former insurgent would run for the presidency as an independent candidate.
Hekmatyar noted that the current Afghan government was a reason for the continuing war in the country, and the system must be changed in a peaceful way.
Announcing his candidacy, Hekmatyar pledged to restore peace and security and said the current government had failed to end the war with the Taliban.
"Our country’s situation requires a powerful central government lead by an elected president supported by the majority of people,” he told a news conference in Kabul.
On December 30, the Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan announced that the country's presidential election, initially scheduled for April 20, would be pushed back to July 20 due to the problems the country faced during the parliamentary elections in October 2018 and the preparation of talks on a peace agreement with the Taliban.
In September 2016, the Afghan government signed a peace agreement with Hekmatyar’s Hezb-e Islam faction, which has waged a violent insurgency against the government for the past 15 years. Since 2001 Hezb-e Islami has launched attacks on both U.S. and Afghan forces.
Hekmatyar headed a notorious opposition faction against the Afghan government during the 1979-1989 war. He served as prime minister in the mujahideen government when another war raged from 1992 to 1996, before defecting to help the Taliban take over the country.
Afghanistan’s presidential race is now in full swing, with several former officials, politicians lining up to challenge Ghani who is expected to register his candidacy for a second term on Sunday.
On Saturday Interior Minister Amrullah Saleh resigned to run for the vice-presidency as part of Ghani’s team, according to two political sources.
In December, Ghani appointed Saleh, a former security official and an uncompromising opponent of the Taliban, to his government in a bid to secure the support of former opponents for a second term.
The channel reported, citing Hekmatyar, that the former insurgent would run for the presidency as an independent candidate.
Hekmatyar noted that the current Afghan government was a reason for the continuing war in the country, and the system must be changed in a peaceful way.
Announcing his candidacy, Hekmatyar pledged to restore peace and security and said the current government had failed to end the war with the Taliban.
"Our country’s situation requires a powerful central government lead by an elected president supported by the majority of people,” he told a news conference in Kabul.
On December 30, the Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan announced that the country's presidential election, initially scheduled for April 20, would be pushed back to July 20 due to the problems the country faced during the parliamentary elections in October 2018 and the preparation of talks on a peace agreement with the Taliban.
In September 2016, the Afghan government signed a peace agreement with Hekmatyar’s Hezb-e Islam faction, which has waged a violent insurgency against the government for the past 15 years. Since 2001 Hezb-e Islami has launched attacks on both U.S. and Afghan forces.
Hekmatyar headed a notorious opposition faction against the Afghan government during the 1979-1989 war. He served as prime minister in the mujahideen government when another war raged from 1992 to 1996, before defecting to help the Taliban take over the country.
Afghanistan’s presidential race is now in full swing, with several former officials, politicians lining up to challenge Ghani who is expected to register his candidacy for a second term on Sunday.
On Saturday Interior Minister Amrullah Saleh resigned to run for the vice-presidency as part of Ghani’s team, according to two political sources.
In December, Ghani appointed Saleh, a former security official and an uncompromising opponent of the Taliban, to his government in a bid to secure the support of former opponents for a second term.