As negotiations between the two presidential candidates continue to stall, Afghan and foreign stakeholders alike have looked to meet with the campaigns and urge them toward an agreement. This Friday, a group of Jihadi leaders and the heads of the three branches of the Afghan government are expected to meet with the candidates.
The Jihadi leaders are said to be Sibghatullah Mojaddedi and Abdul Rab Rassoul Sayyaf. The three top government officials are President Hamid Karzai, the head of the executive branch, Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi, the Chairman of Parliament, and Abdul Salam Azimi, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
National Security Advisor Dr. Rangin Dadfar Spanta said on Thursday that the Jihadi leaders and the government officials already met with President Hamid Karzai to express their concerns about the election stalemate. “President Hamid Karzai chaired a meeting this morning with Jihadi leaders and the heads of the three branches of the state to discuss the election issue and the negotiations between the two candidates,” Dr. Spanta said.
Both presidential candidates met with U.S. diplomats at the U.S. embassy in Kabul on Thursday, but to no avail. The candidates remain at odds over the final results of the election and the authorities that will be granted to the Chief Executive position in their national unity government.
“Both respected candidates met with each other today and talks were held in a positive environment,” Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai spokesman Faizullah Zaki said.
Yet the Abdullah Abdullah campaign team has not appeared as optimistic about the various meetings and consultations that have and continue to take place as the election drags into its sixth month. For them, the only way forward seems to be mutual concessions, which they would argue their side have already made.
“We have shown a lot of flexibility, and there is no problem from our end, we met with negotiators last night and shared our views for the creation of a national government with them,” Abdullah spokesman Fazel Rahman Orya said.
Pressure on both camps to reach an agreement has mounted over the past month as the country faces worsening economic and security conditions that many blame on the political uncertainty brought on by the election dispute.
In a meeting with Dan Feldman, the United States Special Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, President Karzai reportedly said that the U.S. had been involved in the election process since the beginning and would now be essential to bringing it to a close.