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Afghans' low expectations ensure Karzai is favored
From the gravel lot where he repairs cars, Babarak Shinwari can see the spot where the suicide bomber killed three of his cousins last year. At his home nearby, where his four children live without electricity, he says he prays to God for a president who can bring peace and security.
But on Thursday, Shinwari plans to vote the same way he did five years ago: for Hamid Karzai.
The fact that Karzai remains the favorite to win Thursday's election, despite his government's poor record on security and the economy over nearly eight years in power, says much about the mind-set of Afghans as they prepare to go to the polls. In interviews with more than a dozen residents Tuesday near the eastern city of Jalalabad, heavily populated by Karzai's fellow Pashtuns, all said they planned to vote for the incumbent, even though many were critical of his performance.
That paradox reflects Afghans' deep suspicion of anyone promising change. In recent decades, Afghans have lived through periods of horrific violence and destruction, with each successive regime bringing greater deprivation than the last. Many Afghans reason that although Karzai's government has been disappointing, it could always be worse.