Independent Election Commission chief says voting went well and ‘turnout has been large’
Over 14 civilians killed and 41 injured in Afghanistan in attacks targeting polling centres across the country
Afghanistan hailed another successful election Saturday when Taliban militants failed to launch a major attack and millions of voters turned out to choose a new president as US-led troops withdraw.
Fraud allegations were likely from both campaign teams after the run-off vote, and a close count could lead to a contested result as the country undergoes its first democratic transfer of power.
Despite being mainly peaceful, polling day saw at least 150 minor attacks, including a Taliban rocket that hit a house near a polling station in the eastern province of Khost, killing five members of the same family.
The election will decide whether former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah or ex-World Bank economist Ashraf Ghani leads the country into a new era of declining international military and civilian assistance.
“The voting has gone well and as planned. As you see, the turnout has been large,” said Independent Election Commission chief Ahmad Yusuf Nuristani.
He admitted there had also been problems with ballot paper shortages, but said that affected polling stations had been re-supplied.
President Hamid Karzai is due to step down after ruling Afghanistan since 2001, when a US-led offensive ousted the austere Taliban regime for sheltering Al-Qaeda militants behind the 9/11 attacks.
A smooth handover would be a major achievement for the international effort to establish a functioning state after the depredations of the Taliban era.
“We are very proud to be choosing our favourite candidate,” Karzai said after voting. “Today Afghanistan goes from a transition period toward long-lasting peace.”
TALIBAN ATTACKS:
In the first-round vote in April, the insurgents also failed to launch a high-profile attack and voter turnout was more than 50 percent.
“As we promised, the security was better and we had better planning,” said Interior Minister Omar Daudzai on Saturday. “The enemy’s attacks have had very little impact.”
Daudzai said the day was proof that the security forces, who have been trained by the US-led military coalition, were able to protect the country as all NATO-lead combat troops exit Afghanistan this year.
Over 14 civilians were killed and 41 injured in Afghanistan in attacks targeting polling centres across the country, sources said.
“A total of 14 civilians were killed and 41 civilians wounded during attacks launched by Taliban insurgents on polling centres during presidential election runoff held Saturday,” Xinhua quoted the deputy interior minister in charge of security, General Mohammad Ayoub Salangi, as saying Saturday.
Salangi said the militants launched more than 150 attacks and also fired rocket propelled grenades.
The attacks also included 15 roadside bombings and at least one ambush. The majority of the Taliban attacks took place in Nangarhar, Kunar, Badakhshan, Faryab and Herat provinces, he said.
Both candidates cast their ballots in Kabul before dipping a finger in ink to register that they had voted.
“We do not want even one fraudulent vote for us,” Abdullah told reporters, while Ghani said via Twitter: “We ask everyone to prevent, avoid and discourage people from rigging.”
On the eve of the run-off, UN head of mission Jan Kubis issued a stark warning to candidates’ supporters not to resort to the ballot-box stuffing that marred the 2009 election when Karzai retained power.
The two candidates came top of an eight-man field in the April election, triggering the run-off as neither reached the 50 percent threshold needed for outright victory.
Abdullah secured 45 percent of the vote with Ghani on 31.6 percent, after investigations into fraud claims from both sides.
On the campaign trail, they offered similar pledges to tackle rampant corruption, build much-needed infrastructure and protect citizens from violence.
Counting the ballot will take weeks. The preliminary result is due on July 2 and a final result on July 22.
Ahead of the vote, the Taliban said that polling booths would be targeted by “non-stop” assaults.
“The Americans want to impose their stooges on the people,” the insurgents said.