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WATCH: Google+ Hangout On Pakistan's Elections


Supporters of Nawaz Sharif celebrate with fireworks in Lahore on May 12.
Supporters of Nawaz Sharif celebrate with fireworks in Lahore on May 12.
Pakistanis went to the polls on May 11 in a landmark vote that's expected to usher in the first democratic transition of power in the country's 66-year existence.

Voters turned out in huge numbers despite violence that marred the campaign, especially along the border with Afghanistan, where Islamist militants targeted political parties and attacked secular candidates.

Even the man who is expected to become prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, has referred to Pakistan's current condition as a "mess."

RFE/RL moderator Zachary Peterson hosted a one-hour postelection Google Hangout (see video below) with:

Shuja Nawaz, a native of Pakistan who has served as director of the Atlantic Council's South Asia Center in Washington since 2009;

Daud Khattak, a senior editor with Radio Mashaal who just returned from a two-week trip to northwestern Pakistan; and

Khalid Khan, a Peshawar-based senior correspondent for Radio Mashaal who has written for numerous other publications.

Watch a recording of the show as they examine the vote and what it says about Pakistan's future, for Pakistanis and the world:

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