Afghan presidential candidate Mohammed Mohaqeq greets supporters. (AP)
Afghan Elections Approach Story aired: Monday, October 04, 2004
The first ever democratic presidential election takes place this Saturday in Afghanistan. However, U.N. and U.S. officials expect fraud, intimidation, and violence.
Candidates in the October 9th contest include transitional Afghan President Hamid Karzai, his rival and current education minister, as well as 16 others. The group includes warlords, a woman, and a poet, who is receiving death threats because of his platform calling for women to have the same right to divorce as men.
Guests:
Scott Baldauf, reporter in Afghanistan for the Christian Science Monitor
Ambassador James Dobbins, served as special envoy to Afghanistan under President Bush, now director of the International Security and Defense Policy Center at the Rand Corporation
