On July 28, campaigning began for Afghanistan's presidential election, which is currently scheduled for September 28.
The campaign will play out against a volatile backdrop of violence, technical challenges, and widespread concerns about government interference.
The election campaign also opens at a moment when the U.S. government and the Taliban are edging closer to an American troop withdrawal deal.
What can we expect from this election? What are the major challenges? Will it indeed take place? And should it take place?
These questions and more are addressed in the latest edition of The AfPak File, the podcast series jointly produced by the Wilson Center and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
The guests are Sami Mahdi, Kabul bureau chief for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Afghanistan Service, locally known as Radio Azadi, Mariam Wardak, an Afghan-American political activist, and Michael Kugelman, Asia Program deputy director and senior associate for South Asia at the Wilson Center.
Muhammad Tahir, media manager for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in Washington, DC, moderates the discussion.
