Afghanistan citizens flocked to polling stations nationwide on Saturday, defying a threat of violence by the Taliban to cast ballots in what promises to be the nation's first democratic transfer of power, according to Reuters.
Hundreds of thousands of Afghan police and soldiers fanned out across the country, searching cars at checkpoints and blocking vehicles from getting close to polling stations, Reuters reported.
Four voters were wounded in an explosion at a polling station in the southeastern province of Logar, Reuters reported. It was the most serious attack so far on an election that Taliban insurgents had vowed to derail, branding it a U.S.-backed sham, according to Reuters.
Some voters were searched three times in Kabul, and text messages were blocked in an apparent attempt to prevent candidates from last-minute campaigning, according to Reuters.
President Hamid Karzai, who has led the country since the Taliban were ousted in 2001, is constitutionally barred from a third term. Karzai cast his ballot at a high school near the presidential palace, Reuters reported.
"Today for us, the people of Afghanistan, is a very vital day that will determine our national future. We the people of Afghanistan will elect our provincial council members and our president by our secret votes," Karzai said, according to Reuters.
The militants have vowed to disrupt the balloting by targeting polling centers and election workers, Reuters reported. High-profile attacks in the heart of Kabul in the weeks ahead of voting were clearly designed to show they are capable of striking even in highly secured areas.
The Taliban's bloody campaign underlines the stakes of the election, according to Reuters. If turnout is high even in dangerous areas and the Afghans are able to hold a successful vote, that could undermine the Taliban's appeal.
