According to reports, Dr. Abudullah Abdullah, the leader of the National Coalition of Afghanistan (NCA), will be soon making a formal announcement regarding his nomination for Presidency. He is also expected to announce the candidacy of Abdul Hadi Arghandiwal and Hajji Muhammad Muhaqeq for the post of First Vice-President and Second Vice-President, respectively. The nominees will be representing the newly formed coalition- Afghanistan Electoral Alliance (AEA).
In light of the recent development regarding the nominee for the post of First Vice-President, General Abdul Rashid Dostum, the leader of the Junbesh Milli Party (JMP), whose party is also a part of the alliance, expressed disagreement over Mr. Arghandiwal's candidacy and said that the nominee for the First Vice-President's post should be chosen from the JMP.
Gen. Dostum justified his demand by saying that his party enjoys the support of nearly three million voters; hence, he has an authority to take a final call with regard to nominating any for Presidency or Vice-Presidency.
In a recent development, Gen. Dostum had expressed his disagreement over the decision of the AEA with regard to the nominees and demanded that the nominee for the First Vice-President's post should be chosen from the JMP.
"We have the support of nearly three million voters in the north and northeastern part of Afghanistan. We demand that the nominee for the post of First Vice-President should be chosen from our party," said Gen. Dostum.
Meanwhile, Gen. Dostum said that he will take a final decision regarding his will to stay with the AEA within a week's time. He added that he will announce his decision at a press conference in coming week.
"We will announce our final decision in another meeting. We all should have one goal, and we will announce our decision at a press briefing," Gen. Dostum added.
Although, Gen. Dostum is one of the prominent figures in the AEA, it seems that his party has not been able to reach an agreement with the other members of the alliance, with regard to the nominations. Previously, several coalitions were formed, but all of them collapsed due to disagreement and differences among its members.
In the previous Presidential election, Dr. Abdullah Abdullah was one of the strongest contenders after President Karzai. But, when the election entered the second round, Dr. Abdullah refused to contest and accused the Independent Election Commission (IEC) of poll rigging to support Karzai.
Last month, a gathering of Afghan political figures officially announced to the public the formation of grand coalition called the "Afghanistan Electoral Alliance (AEA)," bringing together many of the most prominent political parties and leaders in Afghanistan under one banner.
The alliance has been formed by the Islamic People's Party (IPP), Wahdat-e-Islami Party, National Movement of Afghanistan (NMA), National Coalition of Afghanistan (NCA), National Front Party (NFP), Afghanistan Green Trend (AGT), Afghanistan Naween (AN), Hezb-e-Wahdat, Iqtidar-e-Millie, Itehad-i-Aqwam and Coordination Council of Arab People (CCAP).
Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, leader of the NCA; Atta Muhammad Noor, Governor of Balkh province; Haji Mohammad Mohaqeq, leader of the IPP; Abdul Rasheed Dostum, head of the Junbesh Milli Party (JMP); Salahuddin Rabbani, acting head of the Jameyat Party (JP); Amrullah Saleh, former Director of the National Directorate of Security (NDS); Ahmad Zia Massood, head of the NFP; and Muhammad Younus Qanooni, a member of the JP, were some of the prominent political leaders who attended the meeting and signed the agreement solidifing newly formed alliance.
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Gen. Dostum in Disagreement Over AEA's Nominees
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