Afghans voted Thursday to elect a president for only the second time in history as fears emerged of poor turnout, despite only sporadic violence from Taleban militants bent on sabotaging the ballot. President Hamid Karzai thanked Afghans for defying insurgent threats and voting in landmark elections, hailing a “day of pride and glory” for the country. “The Afghan people dared rockets, bombs and intimidations and came out to vote. We will see what the turnout was. But they came out to vote – that's great,” he said. NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said early reports on turnout were “a clear demonstration that the Afghan people want democracy, they want freedom and reject terrorism”. “Hopefully we can conclude the elections have been credible and reflect the will of the Afghan people,” added the head of the military alliance, which has deployed 64,500 troops in Afghanistan. Insurgents stormed a small northern town, sparking clashes that prevented voting and killed up to 22 militants, and security fears depressed turnout in Taleban strongholds of southern Afghanistan. Afghanistan's top security officials say 26 civilians and security forces have died in election-day militant attacks. Security officials say eight Afghan soldiers, nine police and nine civilians died. Minor attacks were reported elsewhere, including in Kandahar in the south, which was the capital of the 1996-2001 Taleban regime. But cautiously optimistic Afghan and UN officials said violence could have been far worse. A top Afghan election official said he expected overall turnout to be 40 to 50 percent of the country's 15 million registered voters. Voting centers allowed those still in queues to cast their ballots after the official close of polls, guarded by a huge deployment of 300,000 Afghan and foreign forces, and election officers began counting ballots late Thursday. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the spotty turnout in Afghanistan's presidential elections would not alter US policy in the country. The election commission says partial results could emerge as early as Saturday, but that a full result is not expected before next month. Pre-election violence stoked fears about whether it would prove safe to vote despite US and NATO troops stepping up their anti-insurgency operations. But about halfway through voting, Afghan deputy chief electoral officer Zekria Barakzai said: “The turnout is very good.” Independent observers, however, said voter participation appeared low. One Western diplomat said: “Turnout (in Kandahar) is definitely very, very low.”
