Hizb-e-Islami-Hekmatyar to boycott Afghan election run-off

Hizb had stayed away from the two previous presidential elections because of the presence of foreign troops.

ISLAMABAD: The second armed resistance movement, Hizb-e-Islami Afghanistan, led by former prime minister, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, will boycott the run-off election next month as the two leading candidates favour a long stay of the American troops, a senior party leader said on Saturday.

Hizb-e-Islami, fighting the US-led Nato troops, took part in the April 5 elections and supported presidential candidate Qutbuddin Hilal. Hilal was placed fifth in the list of eight presidential candidates.

The Hizb participation was significant as it had joined the democratic process and isolated the Taliban.

“The Hizb-e-Islami’s central executive committee has decided to boycott the second round of the elections. The party leaders have endorsed the decision,” Ghairat Baheer, head of the Hizb’s political council, told The Express Tribune on Saturday.

Hizb had stayed away from the two previous presidential elections in 2004 and 2009 because of the presence of foreign troops.

As no presidential candidate secured the required 50% plus one vote in last month’s elections, the law requires a second round between the two top candidates.

Afghanistan Independent Election Commission’s (IEC) Chairman Ahmad Yusuf Nuristani says the run-off would be between Dr Abdullah Abdullah and Dr Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai

Dr Abdullah and Dr Ghani are now involved in lobbying to win support of the other candidates to strengthen their position in the second round expected in mid-June.

Dr Abdullah succeeded to win the backing of Gul Agha Sherzai, the former governor of Kandahar and Nangarhar, who was placed 6th in the presidential elections. Section of the Afghan media had reported that Abdullah is struggling to seek the backing of Zalmai Rasoul, the former foreign minister, who was considered a choice of President Hamid Karzai.

“Hizb-e-Islami will neither support Dr Abdullah nor Ashraf Ghani as both want signing of a controversial pact with the US to prolong the American invasion," Baheer said.

Karzai had refused to sign the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) that allows the US to keep some troops beyond 2014.

“Their (Abdullah and Ghani) manifestos clash with the Hizb’s policies and that is why we have decided to boycott the election runoff,” the Hizb leader said.

He also said transparent elections are impossible in the presence of foreign troops, as fraud was seen in the April 5 elections. The Hizb leader, however, clarified that the party will not use force to disrupt the election process and would leave it to the people to decide whether or not to go to the polling centers.

Some former Hizb leaders, currently living in Kabul, announced on Friday their support to Dr Ashraf Ghani in the second round.

Baheer, however, said the dissidents cannot represent Hizb-e-Islami.

“Hizb-e-Islami is one party. Its leader and policies are known to everyone. Some people are using the party’s name for personal interests. We disown them,” he said.

The Hizb’s spokesperson, Haroon Zarghoon, told The Express Tribune the Hizb will not launch any attack on the polling centers or the election gatherings as the party only fights against the foreign troops.

The Taliban have announced to launch their traditional "Spring Offensive" across Afghanistan from May 12 and will step up attacks on foreigners and their Afghan supporters.

The Afghan Defence Ministry has dismissed the Taliban offensive as propaganda tactics and recalled that they had failed to disrupt the April 5 elections despite their tall claims.

The Defence Ministry has also started a big military operation aimed at "clearing the Taliban" from different parts of the country.