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Polls open in Afghanistan presidential elections

20 August 2009 07:52 (UTC +04:00)

Baku -APA. Afghans have begun voting in the country’s national elections amid tight security and threats of violence from the Taliban.
About 17 million people are eligible to vote, with 6,500 polling stations open in 364 districts across the country.
Polling stations opened at 7:00 am (0230 GMT) on Thursday under stepped-up security, particularly in the capital Kabul, where many checkpoints have been established to frisk drivers and passengers.
Incumbent Hamid Karzai is also one of the forerunners in the tense election and is seeking a second five-year term as president among 36 candidates. His main rival is considered to be Abdullah Abdullah, his former foreign minister.
Casting his vote half an hour after polls opened, President Hamid Karzai appealed to his fellow countrymen "to come out and cast their vote to decide their future."
"Vote. No violence."
If none of the candidates garner at least 50 per cent of the vote, a runoff will be held between the top two candidates.
About 300,000 soldiers from NATO and the Afghan army have been deployed around the country to protect voters and thousands of polling stations. Helicopters were reported to be circling over the capital of Kabul.

The Taliban has demanded that Afghans boycott the polls, threatening to cut off the fingers of those who vote and saying they will attack polling stations.
A statement from the Taliban on Wednesday said Taliban fighters were closing roads across the country, the Reuters news agency reported.
Polls close Thursday at 7:30 a.m. ET, with preliminary results expected on Saturday.