Afghans vote for president amid low turnout, counting begins
Friday, 21 August 2009
KABUL, Aug 20 (AFP): Afghans voted Thursday to elect a president for only the second time in history as fears emerged of poor turnout, despite only sporadic violence from Taliban militants bent on sabotaging the ballot.
Counting began across the country on Thursday as voting wound down, an election commission official told AFP.
"The counting has strated in the stations where the voting has finished but if they have people in the queue they are not going to start counting," said a spokeswoman for the Independent Election Commission.
Insurgents stormed a small northern town, sparking clashes that prevented voting and killed up to 22 militants, and security fears depressed turnout in Taliban strongholds of southern Afghanistan.
Western allies have pumped billions into Afghanistan since the Taliban were overthrown and NATO's chief hailed the polls as "encouraging", although other observers said turnout was worse than for the first presidential vote in 2004.
President Hamid Karzai urged Afghans to exercise their democratic rights in a nation that, despite the presence of 100,000 foreign troops, is still beset by a bloody insurgency eight years on from the 2001 US-led invasion.
Counting began across the country on Thursday as voting wound down, an election commission official told AFP.
"The counting has strated in the stations where the voting has finished but if they have people in the queue they are not going to start counting," said a spokeswoman for the Independent Election Commission.
Insurgents stormed a small northern town, sparking clashes that prevented voting and killed up to 22 militants, and security fears depressed turnout in Taliban strongholds of southern Afghanistan.
Western allies have pumped billions into Afghanistan since the Taliban were overthrown and NATO's chief hailed the polls as "encouraging", although other observers said turnout was worse than for the first presidential vote in 2004.
President Hamid Karzai urged Afghans to exercise their democratic rights in a nation that, despite the presence of 100,000 foreign troops, is still beset by a bloody insurgency eight years on from the 2001 US-led invasion.