Afghanistan plans to hold presidential election on April 20 next year

KABUL: Afghanistan will hold its next presidential election on April 20 next year, an official with knowledge of the matter said on Tuesday.

Confirmation of the date comes amid preparations for separate parliamentary elections due in October which have been beset by technical and organizational problems as well as accusations of fraud and abuse.

Candidates will not be registered until November, but manoeuvring among potential contenders and their allies is already under way and President Ashraf Ghani himself is widely expected to run for a second five-year term.

The last presidential election in 2014 produced no clear winner after accusations of massive electoral fraud by supporters of both Ghani and his rival, Abdullah Abdullah.

After months of argument, the two rivals signed up to a U.S.-brokered deal forming a national unity government in which Ghani took the presidency and Abdullah took the specially created post of chief executive.