KABUL (Reuters): Afghan Interior Minister Amrullah Saleh stepped down from his post on Saturday in order to run for the vice-presidency alongside President Ashraf Ghani who plans to bid for a second term in July’s election.
The former top security official told Reuters by phone that he had resigned and two political sources said he would join Ghani’s team.
“He wants to contest for the post of vice-president,” said a source from the presidential palace in Kabul.
Saleh, who commands strong support among Afghanistan’s minority ethnic Tajiks, had been expected to oppose Ghani in the election, which has been pushed back from April to July.
Under Afghanistan’s electoral system, all members of government except the president and vice president must step down in order to run for office.
In December, Ghani appointed Saleh, a former security official and an uncompromising opponent of the Taliban, to his government in a bid to secure the support of former opponents for a second term.
Afghan forces have been dying in record numbers in the face of a resurgent Taliban. U.S. President Donald Trump is considering slashing the number of American troops in the country in half. However the White House says there has been no official order.
Afghanistan’s presidential race is now in full swing, with several former officials and politicians lining up to challenge Ghani who is expected to register his candidacy for a second term on Sunday.
Former warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, whose fighters killed thousands in Kabul during the bloody civil war of the 1990s, joined the presidential race on Saturday.
The political landscape is dominated by ethnic loyalties, personal alliances and often unstable coalitions between powerful regional leaders.
“Ghani’s decision to include Saleh in his presidential bid reflects how alliances are being formed quickly and ideological differences are being ignored,” said a Western diplomat in Kabul.
(Reuters): A swarm of tornadoes touched down overnight in Oklahoma, according to local media reports,…
(Reuters): The United States will host China's Special Envoy for Climate Change Liu Zhenmin in…
Zack Budryk Environmental organized crime is a massive global enterprise, bringing in hundreds of billions…
PARIS (AFP): France summoned Russia's ambassador, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday, in a tit-for-tat…
AHMEDABAD/GUWAHATI (Reuters): Prime Minister Narendra Modi voted early on Tuesday as India held the third…
PARIS (AFP): As well as killing more than 34,000 people and causing catastrophic levels of…
This website uses cookies.