Inside Story

Is the Afghanistan election credible?

Taliban attacks and other concerns contribute to a low voter turnout in Saturday’s presidential polls.

People in Afghanistan faced a tough choice before Saturday’s presidential election: vote or risk being killed.

The Taliban group had threatened to attack polling stations, and it appears many Afghans felt the danger was simply not worth it.

The electoral commission estimates only two million out of the nine million eligible voters cast their ballots.

Nearly 500 polling stations didn’t even open and some of the new biometric machines didn’t work.

Despite the heightened security, at least five people were killed in nearly 70 attacks.

So, was the vote credible?

And how will this affect attempts to end the years-long conflict with the Taliban?

Presenter: Folly Bah Thibault

Guests:

Mohammad Yousuf Rasheed – Director at the Free and Fair Election Forum of Afghanistan

Michael Semple – Professor at Queen’s University Belfast who has negotiated with Taliban

Fahim Dashty – Chairman of the Afghanistan National Union of Journalists