A number of politicians and political parties on Tuesday said they welcome the suggestion by the United States to postpone the April 2019 presidential elections. 

Reacting to a Wall Street Journal report that says the US is pushing the Afghan government to postpone elections, the political parties said after the postponement of elections, an interim government should be established.

Wall Street Journal has stated that in order to make progress in the peace process, US is assessing an option like the Bonn conference in which Taliban should also attend and then a government should be established. 

“If an interim administration or postponing the elections can help a comprehensive peace process, then it (delaying elections) will not be a problem. But people in some parts of the country should not be subjected to mass killings and displacement because of peace,” Mohammad Natiqi, the head of the political committee of the political parties said.

Shahzada Massoud, who is close to former president Hamid Karzai, also said holding presidential elections at this time was not recommended and an interim government should be established.

“In five months this government’s term will finish and after that it is better that an interim administration should be established which should be acceptable for both sides and they should be able to pave the way for an inclusive and transparent election,” said Massoud. 

The US ambassador to Afghanistan John R. Bass meanwhile said the US is committed to helping the electoral commissions and the Afghan government hold presidential elections adding that it is the Afghans who should decide about the timing of the elections.

“We remain committed to helping the electoral commissions and the Afghan government prepare for presidential elections in April 2019. Timing of Afghan elections is for Afghans to decide,” Bass wrote on his twitter page. 

Officials from the High Peace Council (HPC) also commented on the WSJ report and said under the current circumstances the peace process is more important than other issues. 

"As we get closer to peace, it will be good for the nation and it should be put first. By having peace, we then will have good elections," Azizullah Din Mohammad, HPC deputy head said.

The former chief of the Independent Election Commission Fazl Ahmad Manavi meanwhile said Afghan and foreign politicians have started discussions about postponing the presidential elections and establishing an interim administration and that the US Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad has shared his views on this with President Ashraf Ghani. 

“We knew that the elections will not be held. And today when the issue was mentioned by the Americans, it is natural that no place will remain for questions and the elections will be postponed,” said Manavi. 

The Presidential Palace however rejected claims of a possible delay and said the presidential elections will go ahead in April 2019. 

"Afghan government is completely committed to holding 2019 elections based on the law and the schedule announced by the election commission," President Ashraf Ghani’s spokesman, Haroon Chakhansuri said. 

This comes after a report Tuesday morning in the Wall Street Journal stated the United States is considering pushing the Afghan government to postpone the April 2019 presidential election while it tries to reach a peace deal with the Taliban to end the 17-year war.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the possibility of such a step, one of several options being considered by US officials, is a sign of the urgency the administration sees in trying to broker a political breakthrough in the conflict.

Sources state a suspension of the April election, an idea reportedly raised by US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, in talks with various stakeholders and intermediaries, would be a contentious move after the US has long promoted democracy in Afghanistan, the WSJ reported. 

According to the report, Khalilzad’s office declined to comment on his efforts.

The report stated that the idea of a postponement has received a frosty reception in Kabul and many Afghan officials have expressed opposition to any suspension, but the plan has quiet backing from some in President Ashraf Ghani’s government. 

One senior Afghan political figure told the WSJ he wouldn’t be opposed to calling off the ballot if there was a chance of a deal.