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Afghan voters defy attacks, delays to vote for president
Source: Reuters
WORLD NEWS SEPTEMBER 27, 2019 / 11:25 PM / UPDATED AN HOUR AGO
Afghan voters defy attacks, delays to vote for president
Abdul Qadir Sediqi, Rupam Jain
6 MIN READ
KABUL (Reuters) - Afghans braved the threat of militant attacks and delays at polling booths to vote in a presidential election on Saturday, a major test of the Western-backed Afghan government’s ability to protect democracy despite Taliban attempts to derail the polls.
The election was marred by numerous small-scale Taliban attacks, but only one confirmed death. However, turnout was low, and the violence, plus the Taliban’s earlier threats to attack polling stations, may be a major reason.
More than 9 million registered voters could have headed to the polls to elect a president among a dozen candidates, led by President Ashraf Ghani and his former deputy Abdullah Abdullah.
The winner will play a crucial role in the country’s quest to end the war with the Taliban and any resumption of talks between the insurgents and the United States that were called off earlier this month. Due to the difficulty of collecting results across Afghanistan, the overall results will not be known before Nov. 7.
-snip-
Afghan voters defy attacks, delays to vote for president
Abdul Qadir Sediqi, Rupam Jain
6 MIN READ
KABUL (Reuters) - Afghans braved the threat of militant attacks and delays at polling booths to vote in a presidential election on Saturday, a major test of the Western-backed Afghan government’s ability to protect democracy despite Taliban attempts to derail the polls.
The election was marred by numerous small-scale Taliban attacks, but only one confirmed death. However, turnout was low, and the violence, plus the Taliban’s earlier threats to attack polling stations, may be a major reason.
More than 9 million registered voters could have headed to the polls to elect a president among a dozen candidates, led by President Ashraf Ghani and his former deputy Abdullah Abdullah.
The winner will play a crucial role in the country’s quest to end the war with the Taliban and any resumption of talks between the insurgents and the United States that were called off earlier this month. Due to the difficulty of collecting results across Afghanistan, the overall results will not be known before Nov. 7.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-election/afghan-voters-defy-attacks-delays-to-vote-for-president-idUSKBN1WD03C