Kabul elections come off smoothly

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KABUL, Afghanistan -- Afghans embraced democracy by the millions yesterday, with voters undaunted by weeks of violence and threats of terrorist attacks to cast ballots for the first elected parliament in decades.

The vote went smoothly, with only a handful of incidents involving gunfire or militant attacks at the 6,200 polling stations.

"We are going to vote for the people who will do something for the country, not just for us," said Yosof Khan, dressed in the traditional loose-fitting garb and turban donned by members of his nomadic Kuchi tribe for centuries.

Mr. Khan gestured to a throng of bearded men who nodded in agreement outside tents pitched amid desolate mountain peaks east of Kabul.

With more than 12 million voters registered, election officials said 80 percent to 85 percent cast ballots -- an unheard-of turnout in Western democracies.

Voters also selected local leaders for Afghanistan's 34 provinces.

The polling stations were erected in mosques and community centers in provincial capitals, with tents and makeshift cardboard booths used in rural locations.

Voters were handed seven-page, poster-sized ballots, complete with pictures of all the candidates for those Afghans who can't read -- an estimated 80 percent of the population.

Ballots are to be collected using donkeys and camels in some remote areas, and preliminary results are not expected until early October.

"I am very happy with today's voting -- it was calm, even festive ... it was the kind of day the Afghans deserved," said Bronwyn Curran, a spokeswoman for the Joint Electoral Management Body, which organized and oversaw the elections.