Afghans flock to polls to vote for new leader

By The Associated Press KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghans flocked to polling stations nationwide on Saturday, defying a threat of violence by the Taliban to cast ballots in what promises to be the nation's first democratic transfer of power. Amid tight security, men in traditional tunics and loose trousers, and women covered in burqas lined up at polling centers more than an hour before they opened in Kabul and elsewhere. Excitement was high as Afghans chose from a field of eight presidential candidates as well as provincial councils. With three men considered front-runners, nobody was expected to get the majority needed for an outright victory so a runoff was widely expected. Hundreds of thousands of Afghan police and soldiers fanned out across the country, searching cars at checkpoints and blocking vehicles from getting close to polling stations. Some voters were searched three times in Kabul, and text messages were blocked in an apparent attempt to prevent candidates from last-minute campaigning. On Friday, veteran Associated Press photographer Anja Niedringhaus was killed and AP reporter Kathy Gannon was wounded when an Afghan policeman opened fire while the two were sitting in their car in the eastern city of Khost. The two were at a security forces base, waiting to move in a convoy of election workers delivering ballots. Niedringhaus, 48, an internationally acclaimed German photographer, was killed instantly, while Gannon, 60, was hospitalized in Kabul and is in stable condition. President Hamid Karzai, who has led the country since the Taliban were ousted in 2001, is constitutionally barred from a third term. Karzai cast his ballot at a high school near the presidential palace. "Today for us, the people of Afghanistan, is a very vital day that will determine our national future. We the people of Afghanistan will elect our provincial council members and our president by our secret votes," he said, his finger stained with the indelible ink used to prevent people from voting twice. Karzai's tenure has been heavily criticized as he has failed to end the endemic corruption and poverty in the country, which remains mired in violence after nearly 13 years of war. As international combat forces prepare to withdraw by the end of this year, the country is so unstable that the very fact the crucial elections are being held is touted as one of Karzai's few successes. The eventual winner faces deep challenges. Security forces will be left to deal with the Taliban insurgency without international troops. Billions of dollars in international aid are at risk with the coalition forces' withdrawal. Expectations are high among Afghans that the new leader will alleviate poverty and clean up the government in a country that Transparency International last year ranked among the three most corrupt in the world alongside Somalia and North Korea. Mohammad Aleem Azizi, a 57-year-old shopkeeper, said he voted to re-elect Karzai in the last election in 2009 but has been disappointed. "Security deteriorated, insecurity is getting worse day by day," he said. "I want peace and stability in this country. I hope the new president of Afghanistan will be a good person." Nazia Azizi, a 40-year-old housewife, was first in line at a school in eastern Kabul.