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Afghan Presidential Debate Promo

Live Blog -- Afghan Presidential Debates

Radio Free Afghanistan and Afghan National Radio and TV are holding two presidential debates on February 15 and 16. Gandhara will provide live updates during the debates.

DAY 1: Akbar Ayazi, RFE/RL's regional director for Afghanistan and Pakistan, moderated the first presidential debate on February 15 (Saturday) between 1600 Afghanistan local time (UTC, 1130) and 1800 (UTC, 1330).

Islamist leader Qutbuddin Hilal, former Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak, former lawmaker Daud Sultanzoi and former Governor Gul Agha Sherzai participated in the debate.

DAY 2: Akbar Ayazi, RFE/RL's regional director for Afghanistan and Pakistan, is moderated the second presidential debate on February 16 (Sunday) from 1600 Afghanistan local time (UTC, 1130) to 1800 (UTC, 1330).

Former Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani, former senior presidential adviser Hedayat Amin Arsala and Prince Mohammad Nader Naim, grandson of former President Daud Khan's brother, participated in the second debate.

Abubakar Siddique
13:41 15.2.2014
Sultanzoi: The rule of law is required to attract foreign and domestic investment. We need safety nets for the poor. We need to improve health care to prevent Afghanistan from spending $5 billion on treatment abroad.
13:39 15.2.2014
Hilal: We need to better improve our domestic revenue streams. We need to rebuild our industries. We need to build new dams.
13:38 15.2.2014
Wardak: We need to increase the government's revenues. We need a lot of affirmative action to better distribute our revenues. We need to prioritize agriculture and the development of our mineral resources.
13:35 15.2.2014
Sherzai: Peace and security are a prerequisite for improving governance. My experience in government tells me that improving exports and decreasing imports will help economic development. We also need to emphasize industrialization and better utilize our economic resources.
13:33 15.2.2014
Sultanzoi: I know all about how some Afghan live in extreme poverty. By eliminating corruption we can save billions to contribute to improving the living standards for our people.
13:31 15.2.2014
Hilal: Meritocracy is important in education and employment.
13:29 15.2.2014
Ayazi -- Question Four: If elected president, one of you will enjoy great security and a good life. But most Afghans still do not have food, housing and security. How would you improve the quality of life for the people?
13:27 15.2.2014
Sherzai: We need to support our military to evolve into a better force.
13:26 15.2.2014
Hilal: Better governance and justice will improve the quality of our security forces.
13:25 15.2.2014
Wardak: In Afghanistan we can adopt a mixed system where we can have some conscription but we should also recruit volunteers.

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