Afghans Prepare to Vote, Security Fears Loom
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Afghans have one day left to make up  their minds about who to vote for as their country's first  elected president even though threats of violent reprisals by  Taliban militants may deter some from casting their ballots.
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KABUL, Afghanistan More than 100-thousand Afghan and foreign security forces are on high alert the day before the country&#39;s first direct presidential election.
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Campaigning is under  way for Afghanistan's presidential poll, amid warnings of insecurity and intimidation.
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Afghans are voting in a historic poll that aimed to give the mountainous and impoverished Islamic nation its first elected president and perhaps end over a quarter-century of war.
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KABUL, Afghanistan - The vote tally under way on Friday in Afghanistanâs landmark election was widely expected to yield an election victory for US -backed interim leader Hamid Karzai, which would install him as the war-ravaged countryâs first
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The power of Afghan armed factions means elections there will go ahead in an environment of fear and repression, US-based Human Rights Watch says.
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Afghans have braved threats of Taliban attacks to begin voting in a historic presidential election that they hope will mark the beginning of the end to a quarter century of conflict.
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Many Afghans say they are more worried about a different source of abuse and intimidation during the presidential elections: pressure from local militia commanders to vote for certain candidates.
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KABUL, Afghanistan Oct. 8, 2004 - In advance of Afghanistan&#39;s first-ever direct presidential election, Muslim clerics urged Friday worshippers to embrace democracy, election workers scurried to ready voting
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Voting has begun in Afghanistan for the first direct presidential election in the country's history.
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Afghans began voting on Saturday in a  historic poll that will give the mountainous Islamic nation on  the ancient Silk Road its first elected president and perhaps  end over a quarter-century of war.
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Afghanistan&#39;s historic presidential elections are due to take place in just two weeks. Senior US military officials are warning that Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters are increasing their efforts to undermine the vote.
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KABUL, Afghanistan - Vote counting in Afghanistan's presidential election got under way Thursday, five days after a landmark vote meant to cement a new era of stability after more than two decades of strife.    A top election official said about three-quarters of the 10.5 milion Afghans who registered for the election turned out to vote - despite threats of violence...
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KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghanistan's first-ever direct presidential election began Saturday, with people across this ethnically diverse land casting the first ballots in an improbable experiment with democracy.    After 25 years of near constant war - and under a Taliban threat of ruinous violence - voters descended on bombed-out schools, blue-domed mosques, and bullet-pocked hospitals to choose their leader for the first time in their history...
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As random selection placed registered entrants on a ballot that is expected to be several pages long, officials worried that violence aimed at preventing the election is surging.
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On Saturday, Afghans will vote for the first time in a presidential election that could advance the cause of democracy, or just as easily provoke widespread disillusionment.
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KABULâTrying to pull off Afghanistan&#39;s first national presidential vote this Saturday will be a daunting task in this war-ravaged country largely lacking roads, security, electricity, phones and even literate voters.