Afghans head to the polls amid tight security Saturday to vote for their next president, following a bloody, two-month election campaign that has been marred by repeated attacks across Afghanistan.
The Taliban, who already have unleashed a string of bombings, have in recent days issued repeated warnings they intend to attack polling centres and have told voters to stay away.
Wary authorities have placed an uneasy Kabul under partial lockdown, banning trucks from entering the city in an effort to stop would-be suicide bombers attacking the electoral process.
The capital’s traffic, often gridlocked, has dropped to a trickle as schools and offices close for the day and as many people choose to stay off the roads.
Some 9.6 million Afghans are registered to vote, but many have lost any hope that after 18 years of war any leader can unify the fractious country and improve basic living conditions, boost the stagnating economy or bolster security.
Several of the 18 original contenders have dropped out and the poll is considered a two-horse race between current President Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, the country’s chief executive.
Both claimed victory in the 2014 election — a vote so tainted by fraud and violence that it led to a constitutional crisis and forced then-US president Barack Obama to push for a compromise that saw Abdullah awarded the subordinate role.
Voting in Afghanistan’s fourth presidential election begins at 7:00 am (0230 GMT) at some 5,000 polling centres across the country. Authorities had initially planned to open hundreds more but were unable to owing to the abysmal security situation.
Campaigning was hampered by violence from the first day, when Ghani’s running mate was targeted in a bomb-and-gun attack that left at least 20 dead.
