Young academic pits himself against mighty warlords in Afghan poll

Bloomberg

Casting himself against Afghanistan’s entrenched political elite and powerful warlords, Faramarz Tamanna is looking to galvanise a new generation of voters who have lived through near constant conflict since the American invasion 18-years ago.
The 42-year-old academic and chancellor of the University of Afghanistan is pitching his outsider credentials to the country’s war-weary youth and is the youngest of 18 presidential candidates vying for office ahead of a September 28 election.
What Tamanna lacks in ties to Afghan patronage networks, he hopes to make up by drawing support from first-time voters and an educated urbanised population he says are tired of conflict, economic insecurity and ethnic division.
About half of the country’s 35 million people were born around 2001, when the Taliban’s regime was ousted by the US and its allies.
“My supporters are not racially or ethnically affiliated to any fascist political parties run by previous corrupt generations that have shuttered our beautiful nation,” Tamanna, who has held multiple civil service and diplomatic posts, said.
Tamanna faces a tough battle to secure the top job among a crowded field of often ruthless candidates that have long dominated Afghanistan’s political scene.
With little reliable polling in the war-torn country, it’s also hard to gather how much support Tamanna is drawing among over 18s, who are due to cast their ballot for the first time.