Afghan presidential contender Ashraf Ghani, a former finance minister, has hired US political consultant James Carville to join his campaign team. Carville was the lead strategist for former US President Bill Clinton during his successful 1992 campaign.
Ghani, 60, who has a Ph.D in anthropology from Columbia University in New York and worked at the Washington-based World Bank, is one of 41 opponents of President Hamid Karzai competing in the Aug 20 elections.
"The person, who Ashraf Ghani acknowledged as his campaign advisor, was Bill Clinton's advisor in the US presidential election. The fact could undermine Afghanistan's dignity, independence and national authority," UNF's Spokesman Fazel Sancharaki said in an interview with FNA in Kabul.
He advised presidential rivals to use local advisors, saying employing foreigners contradicts the spirit of Afghanistan's laws in certain cases.
"Hiring foreign advisors, specially Americans, for the presidential campaign can have a negative impact on the country's credibility morally, legally and from the view point of national honor and dignity," the spokesman reiterated.
Elsewhere, Sancharaki criticized exploit of governmental assets and possibilities by Karzai's supporters for wining the election, and expressed the hope that at least a part of these unlawful activities could be halted through better supervision and inspection.
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