People of Afghanistan began voting Thursday morning amid tight security to elect the country's president and 420 members of the provincial councils.
Some 17 million Afghans are eligible to vote while the turnout is expected to be lower than in 2004 as security situation is getting worse in most areas of the country.
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Police check outside a polling station before voters' entering in central Kabul, capital city of Afghanistan, on Aug. 20, 2009. [Zabihullah Tamana/Xinhua]
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In the capital city Kabul and other provinces, people are standing in queues casting their votes in favor of their candidates.
There are 6,500 voting centers and some 29,000 polling booths throughout the country, but hundreds of polling stations are expected to be closed down due to security reasons.
Eight of Afghanistan's 364 districts remain wholly under Taliban control and will not be able to hold elections, according to Interior Minister Mohammad Hanif Atmar.
The voting coincided with Taliban-linked violent incidents in Kabul and some other cities, people are using their franchise with fervor.
The voting began at 07:00 a.m. local time and would continue until 04:00 p.m., with the possibility of extension.
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Afghan President Hamid Karzai casts his vote in the presidential election in Kabul August 20, 2009. [Xinhua]
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Taliban militant have threatened to disrupt the election while over 200,000 Afghan and the NATO-led international forces have been assigned to ensure security for the process.
