Five presidential candidates and thousands of their supporters on Tuesday staged a huge gathering at Kabul’s Ghazni stadium and reiterated their demand for formation of a caretaker government and dismissal of President Ashraf Ghani from power.

Mohammad Hanif Atmar, a presidential candidate and former national security adviser to President Ghani said the current government is illegitimate, ruthless, and an enemy of peace.

He warned that the continuation of Ghani’s government will be a big threat to the political stability of Afghanistan.

“This government is illegitimate, ruthless and corrupt. If this government continue illegally it will create a risk for peace and election in the country and will increase factionalism in the country,” Atmar said.

He further said that Ghani’s government is the “enemy of peace” because it has opposed any “legitimate step” for peace so far.

At the same event, Shahab Hakimi, a presidential candidate warned of boycotting the upcoming presidential election if Ghani remained in power.

In response, Shahhussain Murtazawi, a spokesman for President Ghani said that such gatherings can be considered a premature electoral campaign and relevant institution should pay attention.

According to the Afghan Constitution, the legal tenure of the National Unity Government (NUG) ended on May 22 but the Supreme Court extended Ghani’s service term until re-election of a new president.

The decision sparked a widespread reaction of presidential candidates who demanded President Ghani to either step-down or refrain from his candidacy in the upcoming presidential election.