Candidates disqualified by election officials back in the fall announced their support for Presidential candidate Hedayat Amin Arsala on Monday.
Speaking to his supporters, Arsala vowed to fight corruption and prioritize human rights, particularly women's rights, on top of the rest of his agenda if he were to become president.
Most of the 16 Presidential candidates disqualified by the IEC last year have endorsed Arsala, calling themselves "Tahood-e-Milli-Baray Nejat-e-Afghanistan".
"Tahood-e-Milli-Baray Nejat-e-Afghanistan is committed to compete in the elections under the leadership of his excellency Hedayat Amin Arsala and a strong team," said Salman Ali Dostzada, one of the disqualified candidates.
Other candidates, despite forming a powerful political pack around Arsala during the annoucement, used the opportunity to argue against the formation of a coalition government.
"Tahood-e-Milli-Baray Nejat-e-Afghanistan denounces any sort of power-sharing on the basis of package distributions and rejects the approach of forming a coalition government," disqualified candidate Hamidullah Qaderi said. "We only recognize qualification and ability - those are the only ways to push the country towards a dignified future."
The candidates coalesced behind Arsala said human rights and economic development were their major subjects of concern heading into the April vote. Arsala assured them that the issues would be on his agenda, if elected.
"In the next five years, we will focus on good governance and the rule of law, implementation of justice, elimination of corruption, administrative reforms, preservation of human rights, development of women and children's rights and the enhancement of youth contributions in various social, economic, and political spheres," Presidential candidate Arsala said.