Director General at Afghan Government Office of Public and Strategic Affairs, Waheed Omar says that President Ghani has prepared a plan called the “Roadmap for Peace”.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Mr Omar said that what was published in the media in the name of the president’s plan for the election was not an election plan; It is a roadmap for peace.
“This plan covers various aspects of the peace process,” he said. “One of the issues raised is the transfer of power by people’s votes. The president believes that any transfer of national authority without elections will not lead to lasting peace, but will create a risk that Afghanistan will become more destabilized.”
Recently, Reuters reported, citing sources, that Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani was scheduled to propose a presidential election in the next six months at the Istanbul summit.
Afghan government officials told Reuters that Mr Ghani’s plan was being opposed to the US peace plan and would mean that he would not accept it.
“The proposal we make at the Istanbul summit is that if the Taliban agree on a ceasefire, we will call for early presidential elections,” an Afghan official said.
However, Waheed Omar stated that no matter what the Istanbul meeting or other meetings are about, the red line for the president would be elections.
Mr Omar stressed that anyone with the intention of peace must stop the violence and that the peace process will be accelerated whenever the Taliban accept the ceasefire.
