KABUL – Haji Mohammad Mohaqiq, Vice Presidential running mate of Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, in a public speech on Thursday blamed the sitting government for a number of "crises" Afghanistan faces heading into the April elections.

"Afghanistan copses with several crises and the sitting government has failed to address them, these crises are as big as oceans...we need to eliminate these crisis with the support of the Afghan people," Mohaqiq said.

Mohaqiq listed insecurity, corruption, a weak economy, unemployment, drug trafficking, addiction and outflowing migration as the major "crises" facing Afghanistan.

The gathering on Thursday was comprised of a number of politicians in Kabul who came together to mark the birth anniversary of the prophet of Mohammad. In their speeches, the participants also touched the ongoing political developments in the country, lending particular emphasis to the April elections.

"We should cast our ballots in favor of the candidate who doesn't believe in ethnic and racial discrimination and who will work for prosperity of the country," MP Ghulam Hussain Nasiri said.

However, Nasiri warned that ultimately the result of the elections fell in the people's hands. "If we nominate a fascist president, we would be responsible for that."

In his speech, Presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah highlighted his concerns about the upcoming election.

"The election is a national and future defining process, and people are obliged to vote and monitor the voting so it is not misused," he said.

In the 2009 Presidential elections, Abdullah was a runner-up to Hamid Karzai, the victor, after withdrawing before a second round of voting. At the time, he cited rampant corruption and fraud as his reasoning for stepping out of the race.  (Tolonews)