Afghan voters brave violence as presidential election begins

Millions of Afghans go to the polls amid threats of militant attacks and a collapse of peace talks

KABUL: Voting began on Saturday to elect a president for Afghanistan with more than 9 million Afghan registered voters potentially heading to the polls amid attacks in several cities.

Fourteen candidates are registered but the race will likely come down to incumbent President Ashraf Ghani and his former deputy Abdullah Abdullah. The winner will play a crucial role in the country’s quest to end the war with the Taliban and the resumption of talks between the insurgents and the United States that were called off earlier this month.



The insurgent group, which controls more of the country than at anytime since its regime was toppled in 2001, has threatened voters to stay away from the election or face dire consequences.

Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah poses as he casts his vote at a polling station in Kabul, Afghanistan September 28, 2019. PHOTO: REUTERS

To protect voters and polling stations from Taliban attacks tens of thousands of Afghan forces were deployed across 34 provinces.

About 9.6 million of Afghanistan’s 34 million people are registered to vote for one of the 14 candidates at around 5,000 polling centres that will be protected by some 100,000 Afghan forces with air support from US forces.

“Bravado gets defined when one musters the courage to cast their vote in Afghanistan,” said Roya Jahangir, a doctor based in the capital of Kabul.

I just voted at a polling station in west #kabul. The line was not as long as it used to be during the past elections. The voting process went on smoothly, biometric machines worked well, iec staff and observers knew what they were doing. #AfghanElections pic.twitter.com/QfZNggNwDV

— Sharif Hassan (@MSharif1990) September 28, 2019

Jahangir said she and her husband will cast their votes even if it means standing in long queues for hours.

“We hope this time there is no fraud — otherwise voters will feel cheated once again.”

Media showed lines of men and women outside numerous polling stations, indicating strong turnout in some areas.

In the northern province of Balkh, voters waited for election officials to arrive at polling stations set up in schools, colleges, mosques, hospital campuses and district centres.

An explosion inside a polling station in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar was confirmed by local officials, as witnesses said an ambulance rushed to the area.

Afghan President @ashrafghani voted in Kabul.#AfghanElections pic.twitter.com/fEuYspqV9V

— Hizbullah Khan (@HizbKhank) September 28, 2019

Bahir Ahmadi, a spokesperson for Kandahar’s provincial governor, confirmed the explosion and said so far three wounded had been transferred to the hospital.

Explosions also hit the Afghan cities of Kabul, Ghazni and Jalalabad, officials said.

Polling stations closed

More than 400 polling centres will remain closed because they are situated in areas under Taliban control. Hundreds more will be closed because of security concerns.

PHOTO: REUTERS

The voting process is another source of concern. The country’s Independent Election Commission (IEC) has come under criticism for issuing contradictory and unclear statements over what processes will be in place to prevent fraud if biometric systems fail during the eight hours of voting.

Four of the 18 candidates registered to contest for the top job have dropped out of the race, but their names remain on the biometric voting devices.

Chief contenders Ghani and his former deputy Abdullah both came to power in 2014 after a bitterly contested election marred by fraud.

Afghanistan’s political scene is still tainted by the aftermath of that disputed presidential vote which forced the two main rival groupings to form an unstable partnership. Both sides were accused of massive electoral cheating.



The Taliban claimed to have attacked several voting stations in Kunar, Ghazni, Paktia and Parwan provinces, but the reports could not be immediately confirmed.

Western security sources and Afghan officials said they had asked local media not to sensationalise threats and attacks, concerned that they could discourage voting.

The election is the fourth presidential vote since the fall of the Taliban to US-led forces.

Afghan President hails landmark polls

Afghanistan's president hailed the beginning of landmark polls in the country on Saturday, amid threats by the Taliban to an estimated 9.6 million voters.

Afghan presidential candidate Ashraf Ghani speaks after casting his vote in the presidential election in Kabul, Afghanistan. PHOTO: Reuters

Speaking to the media after casting his vote at a polling station in the capital Kabul, Mohammed Ashraf Ghani said the ballot was a sign of strengthening democracy in Afghanistan. "It is a moment of pride for me that a major part of the election expenses has been paid by the Afghan government," he said, as the country continues to rely heavily on international aid.

Ghani also stressed the need for fairness and urged election observers to monitor the process candidly.

Afghanistan election commission has no contact with some polling centres

Officials with Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission (IEC) said they have had no contact with 901 of the 4,942 polling centres across the country on Saturday as presidential voting is under way.

"We sent materials to 4,942 centres, but we received some reports that only 4,041 centres are open, " said Hawa Alam Nuristani, the head of the IEC, in the capital Kabul.

A second IEC official said they have had no contact with 901 polling centres across the country. It was not clear whether voting had taken place in these 901 centres, or they were forced to shut down by the Taliban.

Polling stations attacked

In the northern province of Faryab, Afghan forces clashed with Taliban fighters in six districts, forcing people to stay indoors and refrain from voting.

The Taliban said in a statement their fighters attacked polling stations in Laghman province, in eastern Afghanistan. Officials said four explosions in the eastern city of Jalalabad disrupted voting at some stations. One person was killed in the Jalalabad blasts.

Explosions also hit Kabul and Ghazni, officials said.