KABUL: Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Thursday pledged to hold elections, amid fears by political parties that his National Unity Government (NUG) seeks to prolong its term under the pretext of establishing security in the country. Parliamentary and local council elections were originally set for July 2015, but the NUG failed to hold them without giving a reason, instead extending the current Parliament’s term indefinitely. Last year, the NUG-appointed election body came up with a new date to hold the vote, in July this year, but recently rescheduled it to October. The long delay prompted political parties and lawmakers to express fear that Ghani seeks to extend the NUG tenure because attacks by the Taliban and Daesh have increased since 2015, and that the government will argue that violence will undermine fair and free presidential elections set for 2019. In an apparent response to the speculation, Ghani — during a meeting with a delegation from the US House of Representatives — on Thursday said elections are a must for Afghanistan. “I conveyed to members of the delegation that holding elections is our top priority,” he said. “This country can only be governed democratically. Dictatorship has been tried, exclusion has been tried, and all other ways have been tried — none worked. Afghans want to be governed democratically.” NUG spokesman Javed Faisal said preparations are underway for parliamentary elections. “The voter registration process will be kicked off on April 14. It will be conducted in three phases until its conclusion on June 21,” he added. Ghani’s deputy spokesman Dawa Khan Menapal told Arab News: “The government is committed to holding presidential elections, and considers this its responsibility.” The NUG is working on a security and logistical plan for securing both polls, Menapal said. Various elections since the Taliban’s ouster in late 2001 have been held amid complaints of fraud, but the presidential one in 2014 was seen as the most fraudulent. The US, which leads the war against the Taliban and has bankrolled the polls, pushed for the formation of the NUG, in which Ghani and his rival Dr. Abdullah Abdullah share power.