Hekmatyar Accuses Government of Rigging Elections

The leader of Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin Hekmatyar on Tuesday accused the government of rigging elections, saying it has no will to have fair and transparent elections in the country.

Speaking at a press conference in Kabul, Hekmatyar stressed that he is concerned about the possibility of fraud in upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections.

“…it clearly indicates that the government has the will of rigging the elections, it doesn’t want the elections to be fair and transparent,” he said.

Hekmatyar, meanwhile, accused the government and the election commission of “deliberately” depriving people – six million Afghan refugees, two million displaced Afghans and four million others living in insecure parts of the country – from participating in the elections.

However, the election commission rejected Hekmatyar’s remarks. “It was not possible for them to participate in this process, but in future elections, the commission will pay heed to this issue,” said Sayed Hafizullah Hashimi, a commissioner of the election commission.

Separately, Hekmatyar said that the U.S. 17-year-long presence in Afghanistan has been “ineffective” and that the country has failed in its “political and war goals and strategies”.

The Hezb-e-Islami leader also went on to say that the U.S. has failed to establish “a strong, united and successful government” in Afghanistan.

“The National Unity Government neither has the capacity to ensure peace nor has the will for peace,” he said.

In parts of his speech, Hekmatyar also said that he has not been part of the political parties’ plan for ensuring peace talks with the Taliban as he believes the politicians’ negotiations with the Taliban will not have outcomes.