As the first month of Presidential campaigns nears the halfway mark, many Afghans still say that they barely know who are the candidates, let alone relevant information about them.
TOLOnews interviewed Afghans around the country and found that most of them knew very little about the upcoming Presidential and Provincial Council elections, which have been presented by many commentators as pivotal for the future of Afghanistan.
Perhaps one of the reasons for the lack of public awareness is that the 11 candidates have stayed mostly in Kabul, preaching to the converted and talking in front of crowds already aware of their platforms.
In Helmand, however, some residents are not even sure how many candidates are running in the election.
"I think there are 16 or 17 candidates for presidency," Helmand resident Shafiullah told TOLOnews.
In western Herat, as well, the lack of knowledge about the elections, which are now less than two months away, was readily apparent.
"There are only five candidates, one of whom is Daoud Sultanzoi and another Jamal Arsala," a Herat resident named Norullah said.
In the north of Afghanistan, residents of Mazar-e-Sharif face a similar deficiency in awareness of the elections.
Even in the capital, Kabul, wher the candidates have focused their public engagement, most people interviewed by TOLOnews did not know how many candidates there were or what they stand for.
"Nobody knows about the candidates' plans and nobody has seen them," said Mohammad Ibrahim, a Kabul hopkeeper.
Civil society groups, along with the Independent Election Commission (IEC), have announced awareness-building programs expected to be launched around the country ahead of the elections. But based on TOLOnews' interviews, it would appear a lot more needs to be done.