Inside Story

Afghans choose a new president

Can this weekend’s presidential election fix Afghanistan’s many problems?

Millions of Afghan voters will go to the polls on Saturday to vote for a successor to Hamid Karzai, who has led the country since the Taliban was driven out of power in late 2001.
 
This election represents the first democratic transfer of power in the country’s history.
 
The Taliban has branded the election a Western-backed sham, and threatened to disrupt the process. Its members have already carried out a number of attacks in the run-up to the vote.
 
Eight candidates are running for the president’s job. But only three are seen as standing a good chance. Abdullah Abdullah is a former foreign minister. Zalmai Rasool is also a former foreign minister. And Ashraf Ghani was once the finance minister.
 
But can the vote make a difference in Afghans’ lives? And why does Afghanistan matter to its neighbours… and well beyond?
 
Presenter: Mike Hanna
 
Guests:
 
Ahmad Nader Nadery: Founder and Chairman of Free & Fair Election Forum of Afghanistan.
 
Kate Clark: Senior Analyst at the Afghanistan Analysts Network.
 
Nabi Misdaq: a veteran Afghan journalist and author.