President Ashraf Ghani has revealed he is seeking re-election next year to “finish the job” of bringing an end to the 17-year war, Bloomberg quoted the president in a report on Thursday.
According to Bloomberg report, President Ghani said the Taliban and other terrorist groups are trying “to turn our beautiful country into a breeding ground of violence”.
“We have to pursue peace, a lasting, just and sustainable peace,” Ghani said in an interview with Bloomberg.
The report added that Ghani said democratic stability was his priority.
“The elections must produce a leader with a mandate to move Afghanistan forward, put an end to the inherited crises of the last 39 years,” Ghani said as quoted by Bloomberg.
According to Bloomberg, Ghani said 40 percent of Afghans live below the poverty line and that job creation and the development of labor-intensive industries were vital to the country’s future.
This comes after political parties announced that discussions are ongoing within three big circles, between political parties and movements, and with President Ghani, Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah and former president Hamid Karzai on introducing candidates for presidential elections.
The parties said the final decision will be announced next week.
The parties also said that they will continue their efforts to nominate strong candidates for the elections in order to pull the country out of its current crisis.
The discussions are ongoing under the Council for Protection and Stability in Afghanistan (CPSA), the Grand National Assembly, and Hizb-e-Islami led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.
According to the parties, Ghani, Abdullah, former national security adviser Mohammad Hanif Atmar, Mohammad Umer Daudzai, a member of the CPSA leadership, and former NDS chief Rahmatullah Nabil are preparing to run for president. The parties said they are discussing the issue of whether they will support one of these possible candidates or whether they will introduce another person as their candidate.