BBC Online :
Afghan and Western leaders have described Afghanistan’s presidential election and the turnout as a success.
The votes of more than seven million Afghans estimated to have taken part – out of an electorate of 12 million – are now being counted.
The election commission has received 162 allegations of fraud after the poll marked by sporadic violence and reports of ballot-paper shortages. It marks the strife-torn nation’s first transfer of power via the ballot box.
All three of the leading candidates have now appeared on TV since the polls closed, talking up their chances. Former Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani, his voice hoarse from the campaign, complained that some people were denied a vote as ballot papers had run out. Abdullah Abdullah had a more fundamental charge, namely that there had been fraud perpetrated against him by police and other people employed by the state. The interior minister denied the charge. The third candidate, Zalmai Rassoul, said “any president elected by fraud will not be legitimate”.
Some counts have already been completed but will need to be rechecked before any official announcement, which will not be for some days. Answering claims of fraud could take longer.
One of the leading independent election observers, Nader Nadery, said that the Afghan election process “is not finished with this poll – it has just begun”.
Eight candidates are seeking to succeed President Hamid Karzai. A second round run-off between the top two contenders may be needed to decide the winner, correspondents say.
Three million more people voted in this presidential election than in the previous one, in 2009.
A massive operation was launched to thwart the Taliban, who had vowed to disrupt the election, and heavy rainfall may have depressed turnout in some areas.
Mr Karzai, barred by the constitution from seeking a third term, said after the polls closed: “Despite the cold and rainy weather and possible terrorist attack, our sisters and brothers nationwide took in this election and their participation is a step forward and it is a success for Afghanistan.”
US President Barack Obama, in a statement issued by the White House, said: “We commend the Afghan people, security forces, and elections officials on the turnout for today’s vote – which is in keeping with the spirited and positive debate among candidates and their supporters in the run-up to the election.
“These elections are critical to securing Afghanistan’s democratic future, as well as continued international support.”
UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said in a statement: “It is a great achievement for the Afghan people that so many voters, men and women, young and old, have turned out in such large numbers, despite threats of violence, to have their say in the country’s future.”
Nato military alliance chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the elections were “a historic moment for Afghanistan”.
Nato has co-ordinated much of the work of foreign forces in Afghanistan – most of them US and British troops – in a mission that will end this year.
“I congratulate the millions of Afghan men and women from across the country who have cast their votes in presidential and provincial council elections with such an impressive turnout and enthusiasm,” Mr Rasmussen said in a statement.
