Afghan Presidential Elections (2019)

A session analyzing the approaching presidential elections in Afghanistan was held at IPS on September 25, 2019. The session was addressed by IPS associate Ambassador (r) Syed Abrar Hussain, who has served as a Pakistani diplomat in Kabul for three years starting from 2014.

Hussain first presented a general overview of Afghanistan, stating that the Afghan society comprises four major ethnic groups of Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras and Uzbeks. He was of the view that ethnicity, among other segmentations of the society, plays the most significant role in the outcome of Afghan elections and that is why all candidates generally try to balance it out by choosing their aides carefully.

The speaker later presented an in-depth analysis of the approaching Afghan presidential elections in light of his experience and knowledge of the country, studying the credentials of key presidential candidates at length while reflecting upon different power structures, pressure tactics, strategic designs, electoral trends, and various other internal and external evolving dynamics.