Runoff candidates Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai have begun preparing for the brief campaign period that will take place before the second round scheduled for June 14.
Although both contenders have the same two week window to try to secure a victor for themselves, Abdullah heads into the runoff election with a leg-up on Ashraf Ghani after ending the first round vote count nearly 14 percent ahead.
Perhaps his significant lead is why Abdullah’s campaign reported only modest plans for the upcoming campaign period.
“We are planning for the runoff, but at this time, our campaign will not be expanded and we will only have a couple trips to provinces for a number of gatherings,” Abdullah campaign team member Syed Fazel Aqa Sancharaki said on Saturday.
In contrast, Ashraf Ghani’s team seem to be more inclined to take advantage of the campaign period as much as possible.
“This time we will try to travel to the provinces where we couldn’t go in the first round, if it is possible we will go to other provinces as well…,” Ashraf Ghani campaign team member Abbas Noyan said.
Abdullah campaign has expressed apprehensions about security threats to the runoff round. There were a number of attacks on Abdullah campaign staff and even on Abdullah’s own motorcade during the first campaign season.
The Ministry of Interior (MoI) has tried to reassure the candidates and encourage them to conduct their campaigns with confidence.
“The candidates must be confident, because on April 5 the security forces proved their capability, so the candidates can undertake campaigns with full confidence,” MoI spokesman Sediq Sediqi said.
“We will meet with our police commanders within two days to share the election security plan with them,” Sediqi added.
The campaign period will last from May 22 through June 11.
Tolonews
Tags: candidates, prepare
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.