Scores of Afghans turned up to vote for one of eight candidates in the presidential elections on Saturday, ignoring threats of retaliation from the Taliban to participate in what could turn out to be a democratic transfer of power.
The Taliban has recently stepped up violence in the capital Kabul, killing at least 25 people in the last month alone, Bloomberg reported.
A suicide bombing last Wednesday at the Interior Ministry left six police officers dead. And on Friday a German photographer for the Associated Press, Anja Niedringhaus, was fatally shot by an Afghan official. The photographer was traveling in a convoy delivering ballots for the election.
But despite the bombings and killings, not to mention Saturday's rainfall, Afghans turned up to vote for current President Hamid Karzai's successor, The New York Times reported. Voter turnout was so high that polling hours were extended.
The elections could turn out to be the country's first democratic exchange of power to take place since the ruling Taliban was disposed of in 2001, Bloomberg reported. Karzai has remained president since.
"The question of who wins is less important than the question of what they can do to restore order once in power," Anna Larson, co-author of a report on voter perceptions, which was sponsored by the research group Chatham House, told Bloomberg.
"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," Larson said.
The results are not expected any time soon. The top three candidates are former World Bank economist Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai; Abdullah Abdullah, a former diplomat and runner up in the 2009 election against Karzai; and Zalmai Rassoul, a former foreign minister, The NY Times reported.
A runoff election is expected as the vote may be divided among the top contenders. If that happens, a second election will most likely be held on May 28, The NY Times reported. Karzai's time in office could be extended for at least two months as a result.
