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         Former Afghan Warlords Announce Joint Ticket For 2014 Election

   by VOA News

   Two former Afghan warlords have announced that they will share a ballot
   - one running for president, the other for vice president - in next
   year&#39;s elections.<br /> &nbsp;<br /> Abdul Rab Rasoul Sayyaf, an
   influential lawmaker and religious scholar, registered his candidacy
   for the presidency on Thursday.<br /> &nbsp;<br /> &quot;I am hopeful
   that the nation will decide wisely and that their decision will lead to
   a prosperous future, which will ensure the honor and pride of this
   nation in this world and the world after,&quot; said Sayyaf.<br />
   &nbsp;<br /> Another former warlord, Ismail Khan, who previously has
   served as energy and water minister, said he will run to be
   Sayyaf&#39;s first vice-president in the April 5 vote.<br /> &nbsp;<br
   /> Jan Kubis, the United Nations Secretary-General&#39;s Special
   Representative for Afghanistan, refused to comment on the pair&#39;s
   candidacy.<br /> &nbsp;<br /> &quot;It is not necessarily for me to
   make a judgment. The best judgment, the verdict should be should be -
   and I assume will be - delivered through the process of the
   elections,&quot; said Kubis.<br /> &nbsp;<br /> Sayyaf and Khan were
   known warlords during the civil war from 1992 and operated until the
   Taliban takeover in 1996.<br /> &nbsp;<br /> The election will help
   determine Afghanistan&#39;s future following the withdrawal of all
   foreign combat troops at the end of 2014.
   ''
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/afghan-warlords-announce-joint-ticket
   -for-2014-election/1762776.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/afghan-warlords-announce-joint-ticket-for-2014-election/1762776.html