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SHARJAH: People of Afghanistan are undergoing a groundbreaking electoral exercise: the presidential election. Expats from Afghanistan in the UAE are excited about the result and the prospects the future president holds for the country.

Women from Afghanistan eagerly await a good result for the best future of the nation.

KABUL (Pajhwok): Voting in the landmark presidential and provincial council elections came to a close after an hour of extension on Saturday evening.

The Independent Election Commission (IEC) said at least 12 million people had been issued with voter cards. Long queues of voters could be seen outside polling stations.

A total of 6,845 polling stations were established throughout the country but 323 were added later on. Among them, security for 420 polling sites could not be ensured.

The voting phase of Afghan presidential elections has drawn to a close.

The polls come at a time of increased uncertainty for the central Asian nation as American troops look to withdraw from a 13-year occupation that began after the 9/11 attacks. President Hamid Karzai, who has led Afghanistan since the American occupation, is bound by term limits, and will step down after this term is completed. The build up to the election has been marred by violence as the Taliban stepped up its campaign to dissuade Afghans from voting in an election that, it thinks, is a sham.

Officials from the Independent Elections Commission (IEC), Afghanistan's top security institutions and a number of presidential candidates have applauded the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) for maintaining an overwhelmingly peaceful atmosphere for the millions of voters nationwide who participated in Saturday's historic elections.

The Taliban had promised to derail Saturday's vote, which marked the beginning of the first democratic transition of presidential power in Afghanistan's history, but the day was carried out without any major disruption.

JALALABAD (Pajhwok): The Wolesi Jirga secretary on Friday urged officials and the Independent Election Commission (

Kabul, Afghanistan - The explosion was powerful enough to boom its way over the small, barren mountains covered in makeshift houses that lie in the centre of Kabul and echo over the heads of the throng crowding in to see Dr. Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai speak on the last day of the Afghan presidential campaign season. No one in the crowd blinked or even turned their head.

PESHAWAR: Posters of turbaned Afghan presidential candidates are rolling off the presses in Pakistan, which will be keeping close watch on the election in its strategic backyard.

Helped by cheaper labour and a favourable exchange rate, printers in Peshawar, less than 60 kilometres from the border, have been busy making Afghan election banners.

“We have been swamped with work for the past two weeks because of the Afghan elections. One candidate has asked me to print 200,000 posters,” said printer Mohammad Sajid.

At a rally held in Kabul on Thursday, members of an Afghan pro-democracy group dedicated to promoting the 2014 presidential elections called on their fellow countrymen to take part in the voting process to shape their future and defy the militants trying to destabilize the country.

With preparations for the presidential and provincial council elections finishing up, the Independent Election Commission (IEC) on Thursday announced that polls around the country will be open on Saturday from 7:00AM to 4:00PM, but that closing time could be pushed back if need be. 
 
According to IEC officials, Thursday saw the final batch of election materials distributed to Kabul districts under secure escort. With that, all voting centers are believed to have been supplied with the designated 600 ballots and the equipment necessary to conduct the voting process.