Politicians Describe Recent Appointments ‘Political Bribes to Vote Banks’

A number of politicians react to the recent appointments by President Ashraf Ghani, saying the electoral campaign is the main reason behind recent moves.

During the last two months, President Ghani has appointed new provincial governors and police chiefs for Balkh, Helmand, Urozgan, Zabul, Kunduz, Takhar, Sar-e-Pul, Ghazni, Logar and Baghlan provinces.

Asadullah Sadati the second running mate of the presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah, who is also the Chief Executive of Ghani’s government, called the recent move as a political bribe to vote banks.

“The recent appointments and terminations by President are political bribes. Ghani is spending the money which is allocated for hundreds of poor people for the sake of his political campaigns,” Sadati said.

“The President is using government resources for his election campaign especially in appointments and terminations,” said Shaida Muhammad Abdali, a 2019 presidential candidate.

Gul Ahmad Madatzai, Deputy of the Lawyers Union also criticize Ghani’s recent moves, calling it premature electoral campaign.

The President’s office has denied making comment about these claims.