Media Talk: Afghanistan’s presidential election

He is widely expected to win a second term  as president but what impact will the re-election of Hamid Karzai have  throughout Afghanistan?
A panel of experts and journalists due to be covering the 20 August elections will be discussing the implications of an election that will take place against a backdrop of increasingly deadly violence.
Criticised because of continuing corruption, the state of the economy and the ongoing insurgency led by the very people he helped oust from power, Hamid Karzai is hoping to win the election in the first round.
With opinion polls suggesting that his support has slumped since he became Afghanistan’s first democratically elected leader  in 2004, his rivals hope he will be forced to take part in a runoff.
If Hamid Karzai does pull off a first-round victory then key opponents may claim fraud and refuse to accept the outcome.
Furthermore, David Haight, a US colonel in Afghanistan, has also expressed concerns that frustration about the lack of improvement in Afghanistan over the years could turn to frustration if the encumbent is re-elected.
Join us to discuss the full implications of an election which is key to President Barack Obama’s plans to hand over more responsibility to Afghans and eventually withdraw American troops.

 

Photograph: lafrancevi