Ghani to propose elections in counter-offer to US proposal: Report

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani will propose a new presidential election within six months, under a peace plan he will put forward as a counter-offer to a U.S. proposal that he rejects, two senior government officials told Reuters.

According to Reuters, Ghani will unveil his proposal at an international gathering in Turkey next month, signalling his refusal to accept Washington’s plan for his elected government to be replaced by an interim administration, the officials said.

Washington, which agreed last year in a deal with the Taliban to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan by May 1 after nearly two decades, is pressing for a peace deal to end the war between the government and the Taliban.

This comes amid stalled negotiations in Doha.

U.S. Special Envoy Zalmay Khalilzad has been circulating a proposal which would replace the Kabul government with an interim administration. But Ghani has voiced vehement opposition to any solution that requires his government to step aside for unelected successors.

“The counterproposal which we are going to present at the Istanbul meeting would be to call for early presidential elections if the Taliban agree on a ceasefire,” one senior government official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

Another Afghan government official told Reuters: “The president would never agree to step aside and any future government should be formed through democratic process, not a political deal.”

A third senior official also said Ghani’s proposal would include possible early elections, although he did not specify the exact time frame for the vote. The third official said Ghani had already shared his road map with Khalilzad.

With just weeks left before the May 1 troop withdrawal deadline, Washington is seeking regional backing for its approach to push the Kabul government and insurgents to share power.

But diplomats and foreign officials have said it will be difficult to move forward with the U.S. plans without Ghani’s support, Reuters reported.

During a visit to the region, which included stops in Doha and Islamabad, Khalilzad pushed for a conference to be hosted by Turkey with involvement from the United Nations next month.

The Afghan officials said that as part of Ghani’s counter-proposal, his government would ask the U.N. to closely observe the new election to ensure it is accepted by all sides.

A presidential palace spokesman declined to comment.