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Afghan officials count votes as polls close
[Al Arabiya Latest] Afghanistan's officials started to count votes as polls closed Thursday after the country held its second presidential elections in its war-torn history with a sweeping security clampdown in force to prevent Taliban attacks.Dozens of people queued up at polling stations in the capital Kabul and at towns in the largely peaceful north, but early turnout was poor in parts of the south where the Taliban have a strong presence owing to security fears. Shops and business were closed and around-the-clock squads of extra police checked the few cars on the streets in Kabul. In the southern city of Kandahar, a few small rockets landed just before polls opened, Provincial Governor Tooryalai Wesa said, after casting his own vote. A Reuters reporter heard two blasts, and two security sources said four people were injured. Incumbent President Hamid Karzai cast his ballot in Kabul at the start of the vote expected to deliver him a second term and urged his fellow Afghans to flock to the polls. Karzai voted in a boys' high school near his heavily fortified palace soon after polling stations opened in Afghanistan's second presidential election. "I ask the Afghan people to come and vote so through their vote, Afghanistan will be more peaceful, more secure and a better place," said a smiling Karzai after casting his ballot for president and a provincial council. Karzai faces an unexpectedly strong challenge from his former foreign minister, Abdullah Abdullah. Polls show Karzai winning by a wide margin, but possibly falling short of a majority and headed for a run-off in October. Karzai is relying on the endorsements of most of the country's notorious former militia chiefs, raising alarm in the West that warlords could return to power. The election is also a test for U.S. President Barack Obama, who has ordered a massive troop build-up this year as part of a strategy to reverse Taliban gains. Posted by: Fred 2009-08-21 |
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