Afghanistan Times
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KABUL: The non-government entities monitoring electoral affairs, criticize presidential candidates for using military places for their campaign meetings.
At least 26 people most of them civilians were killed after a suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden motorbike into a crowd gathered for President Ashraf Ghani’s campaign on Tuesday in Charikar city of Parwan province.
The gathering was organized at a police compound.
The monitoring bodies said on Wednesday that security organs are responsible for providing security, but their compounds are not places for political campaigns.
The Free and Fair Election Forum of Afghanistan, said the use of military compounds were questionable and brings the neutrality of security forces under question in the electoral affairs.
“The use of military places for campaign gatherings is a kind of violation. This should not be done. We are concerned. Civilians should not be called in dangerous places. We call on security forces to maintain their impartiality,” Yousuf Rashid, head of the forum said.
President Ghani had earlier ordered security and defense
forces to avoid interfering in electoral issues and restrain from arbitrarily
entering the voting centers.
“There is no place that terrorists do not target. The Koreans’ camp was a place
with better security,” said Javid Faisal, spokesman for Ghani’s electoral team.
Marwa Amini, deputy spokesperson of interior ministry, said that no candidate could use police sources. “We only provide their security,” she said.
