Presidential campaigns start on Sunday, which will provide a period for candidates to discuss their platforms and plans for the country. Officials and Kabul residents on Saturday urged the candidates to focus on the country's most pressing needs, as they saw them to be.
A number of businessman and members of the Economic Commission of the House of Representatives asked the Presidential candidates to work on economic development in Afghanistan.
"We are waiting to see what plans the Presidential candidates have for the economy of Afghanistan," an Afghan businessman named Sakhi Ahmad Paiman said.
"Their economic programs for a decade, from 2014 to 2024, which will be the decade of change, should be specific about how they can make Afghanistan self-sufficient and save itself from economic dependency," said Ramazan Juma Zada, a member of the Lower House's Economic Commission.
Most Kabul residents, however, prioritized national security, one of the top issues on everyone's mind as the NATO coalition prepares to withdraw by December and little progress has been made on Taliban peace talks.
"They should secure peace and stability in Afghanistan," Kabul resident Ahmad Khaled Shahab said.
Meanwhile, the civil society group Young Activists Network for Reform and Change warned that if the elections are not held in the right manner, and Afghanistan faces another crisis, President Hamid Karzai would be held responsible.
"President Karzai has not been neutral so far when it comes to the Presidential and Provincial Council elections, and he is favoring a specific candidate," group member Ihsanulah Hekmat said. "Mr. Karzai is using his authority and position in favor of a specific candidate."
Activists from the Network were also concerned with security for women during the voting process, saying that if there is even a sense of insecurity surrounding the polls, women will not vote.
"If Women Security is not maintained by the government and security institutions, women cannot participate in the elections," activist Leena Alizai said.