KABUL - As the 2014 Presidential elections draws near, a bevy of political parties and coalitions have agreed, after many speculations in the media and several rounds of deliberations between them, to form a grand coalition together by the name of "Electoral Alliance of Afghanistan." With plans to wait until Thursday to officially announce their formation, the alliance is said to have busied itself with maneuvers to swell its ranks further with some of the biggest names in Afghan politics.
The alliance has already locked in a variety of parties and coalitions from across the dense Afghan political spectrum, but is said to be centered around a handful of core groups, including Hezb-e-Wahdat, Jamiat-e-Islami, National Coalition, Afghanistan National Front (ANF) and National Movement Party (NMP).
The leaders of the core Electoral Alliance members have held two meetings in the past week with other prominent Afghan political leaders in hopes of roping them in to the coalition, which is already the largest on the scene. Reportedly, some of individuals they have tried to recruit are among the widely regarded favorites for the Presidential elections.
On Sunday, leaders of the National Coalition, NMP, Jamiat-e-Islami and a few other Alliance members met with ZalmaiKhalilzad, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Iraq and Afghanistan; Ali Ahmad Jalali, the former Afghan Interior Minister; Qayoum Karzai, the brother of President Karzai; and several other prominent politicians in order persuade them to join the grand coalition. The exact outcome of that meeting, which was held at General AbdurrashidDostom's house, is unknown. However, the fact that another similar meeting was held on Tuesday night indicates that no conclusion was made.
"The Electoral Alliance of Afghanistan, which is composed of several parties, but mainly Hezb-e-Wahdat-e-Islami, National Coalition, Afghanistan National Front and Junbesh-e-Milli, will announce its existence soon regardless of negotiations with Ali AhamdJalali, Khalilzad and Qayoum Karzai and the green movement," said Haji Muhammad Mohaqiq, the leader of Hezb-e-Wahdat who attended the meetings on Sunday and Tuesday.
According to reports, Muhammad HanifAtmar, a member of the Right and Justice Party (RJP); AmrullahSaleh, the Chairman of the Green Movement; and MP Muhammad YounasQanoni were also all in attendance at the first meeting. However, they were absent from the second one on Wednesday, which took place at Mr. Muhaqiq's house.
While it is clear the current members of the Electoral Alliance are keen on recruiting more bigwigs to their cause, the leaders of the coalition were firm in emphasizing that they would go ahead with the announcement of their formation on Thursday irrespective of the success or failure of their attempts. But it also appeared as if the coalition members would not stop their entreaties once the Alliance was officially announced.
"If negotiations yield positive outcomes before Thursday, then the team of Mr. Khalilzad, Ali Ahmad Jalali and Qayoum Karzai will join us," said Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, the leader of the National Coalition. "If they don't yield positive results, talks will continue, because the elections are very important and it is always good to exchange views and perspectives."
The new but still evolving Electoral Alliance plans to nominate a single candidate for the upcoming Presidential vote.
"After the Electoral Alliance of Afghanistan announces itself, it will begin working on the selection of the next president and his vices," said Atta Muhammad Noor, the Governor of Balkh province and a member of the coalition. "A suitable candidate with a good vision will be nominated to contest the elections," he assured.
If the Alliance is successful in recruiting the likes of Khalilzad, Jalali and Karzai, who have all been the subject of speculations about frontrunners for the Presidency, it would be positioned quite favorably as the campaign season begins to heats up.
According to the Independent Election Commissions (IEC), the official window for nominating Presidential and Provincial candidates begins on September 16 and ends on October 6, with the official list of candidates to be published on October 19. More announcements from individuals, parties and coalitions are expected ahead of time. (Tolo News)