More than seven million Afghans defied threats of violence to throng polls and win praise from the U.S. government in an election that may mark the nation's first democratic transfer of power since the Taliban was ousted in 2001.
"We commend the Afghan people, security forces, and elections officials on the turnout," President Barack Obama said in a statement issued by the White House yesterday. The vote to decide who will succeed President Hamid Karzai was "in keeping with the spirited and positive debate among candidates and their supporters" in the election's run-up, he said.
Eight candidates competed to succeed Karzai, who has delayed signing a pact that's needed to keep U.S. troops in Afghanistan beyond this year. At least 54 Taliban militants were killed yesterday in a clash with Afghan national police while attempting to target polling centers in the eastern Ghanzni province, according to the interior ministry.
The Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan said ballot counting had begun after voting was extended by an hour. "Out of seven millions, around 35 percent of them were Afghan women, a great signal to practice democracy," IEC Chairman Ahmad Yusuf Nuristani said yesterday in Kabul, adding that the turnout was more than twice that of the 2009 elections.
"Some polling sites were running out of ballot papers due to the wider participation," Ziaulhaq Amarkhil, IEC chief electoral officer, told reporters in Kabul.
Front-runners for the presidency include former World Bank economist Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, ex-foreign minister Zalmai Rassoul and Abdullah Abdullah, the runner-up in 2009 who also served as the country's top diplomat. All have pledged to sign the Bilateral Security Agreement with the U.S.
'Courage and Commitment'
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry joined Obama in commending the turnout, saying that millions of Afghan men and women took to the polls "with courage and commitment." The election "demonstrates how committed the Afghan people are to protecting and advancing their democracy," he said, adding that the U.S. is ready to work with the country's next leader.
Preliminary results will be announced on April 24 with the final tally scheduled May 14, according to the IEC. As many as 12 million Afghans at home and 8 million living in other nations were eligible to vote.
If no candidate wins more than 50 percent of votes -- a scenario the head of U.S. forces in the country views as probable -- a runoff between the top two candidates would take place around the end of May.
'Confident' Rassoul
"I am confident if there is a run-off," Rassoul told reporters today in Kabul. "If it goes to the second round, we will win." Asked his reaction to a possible loss, Rassoul replies: "We will acknowledge and respect whatever the outcome of the elections would be."
The Taliban had vowed to use "all force" to disrupt the process monitored by more than 260,000 people and costing Asia's poorest economy and its allies $136 million. Over the past month, the Taliban has killed at least 25 people in Kabul, including policemen, election officials and foreigners.
An Afghan policeman shot two female foreign journalists working for the Associated Press on April 4 while they were reporting on a convoy carrying materials to a polling site, Baryalai Rawan, a spokesman for the governor in Khost province, said by phone. German photographer Anja Niedringhaus was killed and Canadian Kathy Gannon was in stable condition and getting medical treatment at a military hospital in Kabul, according to the Associated Press.
Election Observers
More than 10,000 domestic observers and 250,000 candidate and party agents were accredited to monitor the polls, and they were to be joined by "several hundred" international observers, according to data from the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.
"Election day will determine the fate and destiny of our country," Karzai said in an April 3 televised address. "Wider participation reflects the people's strong determination in continuing the democratic system of the country, and reflects a strong message of defiance to those who think violence would disrupt our people's determination."
Afghanistan's economy has expanded eightfold since 2001 to $20.5 billion, while its infant mortality has declined 33 percent and school enrollment risen to 7.8 million from 1 million in 2002, official data and figures from the World Bank show.
"The question of who wins is less important than the question of what they can do to restore order once in power," said Anna Larson, who co-wrote a report on voter perceptions sponsored by Chatham House, a London-based research group. "For Afghans, the true test of these elections is whether they can help secure a peaceful transition, or whether in fact they contribute to future insecurity."
To contact the reporter on this story: Eltaf Najafizada in Kabul, Afghanistan at enajafizada1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nancy Moran at nmoran@bloomberg.net; Daniel Ten Kate at dtenkate@bloomberg.net Jim McDonald
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