East Bay Afghan Community Riveted to Election in Afghanistan

The East Bay is home to over 40,000 Afghan-Americans, and the big news back home in Afghanistan over the past two days has been the country's second national election since the end of Taliban rule in 2001. A lower turnout was reported than in the last election, largely due to threats of Taliban attacks on polling station and general apathy about the political situation in the country.

But incumbent President Harmid Karzai is still favored to win -- though there may be a runoff if one of the other 36 official candidates pulls too many votes. KQED brings us the story below, featuring an interview with Farid Younos, an Afghan-American professor at Cal State East Bay, who doesn't sound like he's too fond of any of the candidates but remains hopeful that his home country can someday soon become less of a mess.

UPDATE: Looks like there'll be a runoff.