Kabul: Voting is underway in Afghanistan in a crunch run-off election to decide who will succeed President Hamid Karzai.
Security in the capital Kabul and across the country remains intense with the Taliban vowing to target polling stations.
Karzai cast his ballot early on Saturday. The vote paves the way for the first ever peaceful and democratic transfer of power in Afghanistan’s history despite the threat of Taliban violence.
The final round run-off pits former foreign minister Abdullah against former World Bank economist Ashraf Ghani, after neither secured an outright majority.
While Abdullah remains the favourite, having polled 14% points ahead of his rival, Ghani stands to gain a large portion of Afghanistan’s Pashtun vote.
The election process has been dogged by claims of fraud by both candidates and there are fears that a close outcome will make it less likely the loser will accept defeat, dragging the country into a protracted stand-off.
Bureau Report
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