Representatives of some political parties and movements on Sunday branded the government’s proposed Consultative Grand Jirga on Peace a “politically-motivated” as the country prepares for the presidential elections scheduled for late September.

Fawzia Kofi, member of Mohammad Hanif Atmar-led Peace and Moderation election ticket, described the allocation of $5 million budget for the Jirga as the “misuse” of the national budget.

“This Jirga will not help the peace process,” Kofi said. “It is only an election campaign and the misuse of the government resources in support of a specific candidate.”

“When the decisions of this Jirga are not implementable and the implementation of the decisions go back to the desire of the government, holding such as meeting with the cost of AFs369 million is wasting the resources of the Afghan people,” said Jawad Mir Yar, member of Mawj-e-Tahawul-e-Afghanistan political movement.

A legal expert, meanwhile, said the Constitution of Afghanistan is “not allowing” such a Jirga.

“The Loya Jirga is the highest Jirga of Afghanistan and its decisions have legal base. If the decisions are just as suggestions, then it does not have legal status,” said Sakhi Sherzad, a legal expert.

Meanwhile, a member of the peace Jirga’s organizing committee, Daud Kalakani, said members of the grand assembly will only give suggestions and that the final decision is supposed to be taken by the President.

“At least 2,500 or 3,000 people from across the country and the representatives of Afghan refugees will come together at the Jirga. Of course, they have some expectations from the Afghan government and the President to consider their suggestions,” said Kalakani.

Last month, President Ashraf Ghani in a decree  assigned a committee , led by Umer Daudzai the head of the High Peace Council’s Secretariat, to convene the Consultative Loya Jirga on Peace on April 29.

The Jirga, which is a traditional assembly of Afghan delegates from all layers of the society, was initially scheduled for March 17. According to the High Peace Council, women will make 30 percent of the delegates.