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Afghans Prepare for Election Amid Fears of Attacks, Fraud, Chaos

Ayesha Tanzeem

   KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - Amid concerns about violence, fraud and possible
   post-election chaos, candidates wrapped up their 60-day campaigns in
   Afghanistan on Wednesday, ahead of Saturday's presidential polls.
   Opponents of President Ashraf Ghani, who is running for his second
   term, have accused him of misuse of state resources throughout the
   campaign.
   AbdullahAbdullah, one of the leading candidates who has also been in a
   power-sharing arrangement with Ghani for the last five years, said
   Ghani was losing and would try to "win by fraud, but we won't let him."
   Candidate Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a former warlord who accepted Ghani's
   offer of a peace deal, warned of dire consequences if the elections
   were not free and fair.
   "The situation will spiral out of everyone's control, and neither the
   government nor the foreign forces will be able to bring a halt to it,"
   he told The Associated Press in an interview.

   Warning on violence
   Speaking to his supporters in Kabul, Hekmatyar warned that allegations
   of fraud could lead to violence.
   "Don't make us regret our return. Don't make us regret participating in
   the electoral process. Don't make us use other means. We can do it and
   we have the experience to be able to do it," he said.
   He also warned foreign stakeholders in Afghanistan against trying to
   manage the results.
   After widespread allegations of massive fraud threatened to destabilize
   the country in the 2014 presidential elections, the United States
   stepped in. Then-Secretary of State John Kerry helped patch up a deal
   between the two leading candidates. Ghani became president, and
   Abdullah was given the title of chief executive.

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