KABUL - In a lunch meeting with the eleven Presidential candidates and their Vice Presidents on Sunday, President Hamid Karzai assured the contenders of ongoing efforts to ensure transparent and fair elections.

Many inside and outside the government have expressed anxiety about the upcoming elections; whether or not there will be a sufficient turnout to make the vote credible, whether or not there will be rampant fraud and voter intimidation like there was in 2009 and so on.

A number of Presidential candidates have expressed concerns about the possible use of government resources in favor of their competitors who have formerly served in the government and continue to have close ties with powerful individuals inside it.

"Some of the candidates were concerned about some of the other candidates who previously served in the government," Presidential candidate Daoud Sultanzoi said. "The concern was that they might use government facilities in their favor."

In the 2009 Presidential elections there was widespread and well-documented instances of local government officials and security forces stuffing ballot boxes and coercing voters to vote a certain way.

"The President promised the candidates that he won't interfere in the upcoming elections and wants to fulfill his responsibilities to the nation," Sultanzoi said.

In addition to the upcoming elections, reportedly the candidates and Karzai also spoke about the pending Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) with the U.S. President Karzai told the presidential hopefuls that the agreement would be signed soon.

Many of the candidates, have spoken out against the President's decision to delay the signing of the accord, an agreement that would ensure a continued military partnership between Kabul and Washington long after the NATO combat mission ends in December.

However, one of the Presidential Candidates, who is apparently against the signing of this agreement, reportedly praised Karzai's approach during the meeting.

This is the second meeting President Karzai has had with the Presidential candidates. (Tolo News)