(26 Sep 2019) Millions of Afghans are expected to go to the polls on Saturday to elect a new president, despite an upsurge of violence in the weeks since the collapse of a US-Taliban deal to end America's longest war, and the Taliban warning voters to stay away from the polls.
US President Donald Trump plunged Afghanistan into political uncertainty when he abruptly called off talks with the insurgents.
Campaigning for the national elections had been largely stilted as a deal with the Taliban seemed imminent, and any final agreement was expected to delay national elections and force incumbent Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's exit.
Now, the war-battered country is facing a number of challenges in holding the controversial vote.
Ghani, who is facing accusations of corruption and abuse of power, is the leading contender.
His closest rival is Afghanistan's Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah.
The two have shared power for the past five years in a so-called unity government cobbled together by former US secretary of state John Kerry, after the 2014 polls were overwhelmed by allegations of widespread fraud and corruption.
The ballot paper will include the names of 18 candidates, the majority of whom have not campaigned or organized their polling day operations fully, adding to the confusion.
Relentless attacks by Taliban insurgents have killed dozens in recent weeks, including suicide bombings that ripped through the center of the capital, Kabul, and targeted an election rally for Ghani.
The militants, who now control or hold sway over roughly half the country, have condemned the upcoming national elections and told the country's roughly 9.5 million eligible voters to not participate.
Voters have also faced attacks by a brutal Islamic State affiliate mostly operating in the east of the country.
Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission requested security for 5,373 polling centers, but security agencies said 410 polling centers were impossible to secure and they would be closed on Saturday.
Afghan Interior Minister Massoud Andarabi noted that there are threats from the Taliban, but said steps have been take to assure voter safety.
Police and undercover intelligence officers will provide the first and second of three security cordons at voting stations.
Afghan army personnel will be deployed to the third and final cordon of security.
A full one-third of the country's estimated 300,000-strong Afghan National Security and Defense Forces, which includes both military and police, will be deployed on election day.
Washington has issued a dire warning to all the candidates in Saturday's polls to keep it transparent and honest and during a recent public debate on a local TV channel, Abdullah promised that the government "will prevent frauds in election."
In an attempt to circumvent corrupt practices at the polls there will be about 100,000 observers, most of them local and belonging to a candidate.
The top candidates, Ghani and Abdullah, each has more than 26,000 observers registered to monitor the polling day.
Only nine of 18 candidates have registered their voting-day observers with the Independent Election Commission.
Afghanistan's former president Hamid Karzai warned that elections could hurt efforts to find a peaceful end to 18 years of war.
He and dozens of leaders rallied some of the country's leading politicians – most of whom oppose Ghani – against elections, at least not until there is peace in the country.
They fear messy polls could create further divisions within a country already deeply divided along ethnic lines.
The Afghan government will pay $90 million.
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