Voters in Afghanistan went to the polls on Saturday to choose a new leader with incumbent president Ashraf Ghani widely expected to win a second five-year term.
But there are concerns his re-election could deepen political instability, embolden the Taliban and set back efforts to get stalled peace talks back on track.
As voting got underway, explosions hit Kabul as well as the cities of Ghazni, Jalalabad and Kandahar.
The closing deadline was extended by two hours on Saturday after some automated polling stations failed to open on time because of technical problems.
Over 9 million Afghans registered to vote amid fears of violence and fraud. Tens of thousands of Afghan forces were deployed across 34 provinces to protect voters and polling stations from Taliban attacks.
The hardline insurgent group has threatened voters to stay away from the election or face dire consequences.
At some polling stations in Kabul, voters lined up even before the centers opened, while in others election workers had yet to arrive by poll opening time.
Imam Baksh, who works as a security guard, said he wasn’t worried about his safety as he stood waiting to mark his ballot, wondering who he would vote for.
“All of them have been so disappointing for our country,” he said.
The leading contenders are incumbent President Ashraf Ghani and his partner in the 5-year-old unity government, Abdullah Abdullah, who already alleges power abuse by his opponent. Cameras crowded both men as they cast their vote.
Even in the early hours of voting, complaints had begun to be raised such as polling stations in the Wazir Akbar region opening late and biometric machines, aimed at curbing fraud, not working.
In the northern Taimani neighborhood of mostly ethnic Hazaras, two-thirds of the voting registration papers had yet to arrive and angry voters were told their names were not on the list.
Abdul Ghafoor, who spoke on behalf of dozens of men waiting to cast their ballot, said that of about 3,000 registered voters only 400 appeared on the list that had arrived at the center.
Ghafoor said he was told to return at 2 p.m. and that he would be allowed to vote even if his name was not on the list and without using the biometric machine.
“But how can they do this? My vote won’t count if I am not on a list,” he said.
In Khoja Ali Mohfaq Herawi mosque in Kabul’s well-to-do Shahr-e-Now neighborhood, election workers struggled with biometric machines as well as finding names on voters’ lists.
Ahmad Shah, 32, cast his vote, but said the election worker forgot to ink his finger — which is mandatory to prevent multiple voting by the same person.
“What sort of system is this?” he asked, frustrated that he had risked his safety to vote and expressed fear that fraud will mar the election results. “It’s a mess.”
Still, 63-year old Ahmad Khan urged people to vote.
“It is the only way to show the Taliban we are not afraid of them,” he said, though he too worried at the apparent glitches in the process.
Tens of thousands of police, intelligence officials and Afghan National Army personnel have been deployed throughout the country to protect the 4,942 election centers. Authorities said 431 polling centers will stay closed because it was impossible to guarantee their security since they were either in areas under Taliban control or where insurgents could threaten nearby villages.
