So how, with less than three weeks to prepare, is Afghanistan expected to do a better job with its runoff vote? The quick answer is that very few people are expecting it to be any better, with all the same ineffective mechanisms in place and a host of new problems to contend with.

US officials, including top advisor Bruce Riedel are preparing for the likelihood that this vote will be “a second fiasco,” all the while preparing for the realization that a third round is completely impossible.

The violence which kept the turnout disappointingly low in August is just as bad today. After the disastrous first round cynicism about government corruption is at a new high as well. Coupling these with the prospect that early snowfall could make voting impossible across much of the country, the turnout rate could be precipitously lower this time around, which will only fuel doubts about the government’s legitimacy.