Nearly 5,800 candidates are standing for the 249 seats of the Wolesi Jirga, the lower house of the national assembly. Voters are also choosing members of 34 provincial councils.

President Hamid Karzai, after casting his ballot in Kabul, praised the vote, saying Afghans were making history and determining their future after 30 years of wars, interventions, occupations and misery.

"It is a great honor for me as an Afghan to be able to vote today in secrecy and of my own will for the member of the parliament that I like, for the member of the provincial council that I like,” Karzai said. “I vote for the people that I liked and I'm glad that the vote was secret, that there was no force or intimidation."

United Nations special representative Jean Arnault said he was confident that Taliban or other militants will fail in any attempt to disrupt the voting.

Afghans At Polling Stations Speak to RFE/RL After Voting

• Habib Shah Eqbal Ansari, a soldier from the Afghan Defense Ministry, speaking to RFE/RL after voting on Sunday morning at the Alfatha High School in Kabul said:

“There were some problems in the provinces. [The Taliban] has threatened people by telling them they had put some spy cameras inside the polling booths so that they can watch people as they cast their votes. This is not true. But because people are afraid of gunmen, they believe such threats. I say to the people that this is a lie. And nobody can stop this election process.”

• Amannudin Temoori, a 35-year-old man speaking to RFE/RL after voting at Alfatha High School in Kabul early Sunday morning:

“This is a day of celebration for us. We are proud and we are using our freedom to vote. We are voting for the people who will work for the people of Afghanistan and can be productive in the parliament. And they must be well-known people with an education. If these educated and well-known people enter the parliament, it will be a good parliament and [the legislature] can do good things for the country. So democracy here in Afghanistan will develop further.”

• Somsri Hananuntasuk, an international election observer from the Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) speaking to the RFE/RL at polling station at the Malalai High School in central Kabul:

“I am concerned about the understanding of the poll officers whether they understand well about the process, about what they want to do because it seems to me that they don’t know that the polls should open for voters to vote at 600.Some voters just came here and got angry”

“We had some reports from Kandahar about a person who got more than one registration card. This means that a person who gets two or three registration cards can vote three times. It means that the rumors we had received in the last few days [about multiple voter registration cards being issued] is true. So in that case, we wonder if it happened in other areas [as well]," Somsri Hananuntasuk said.

• Shirin Javid, a school teacher in Kabul speaking after she cast her ballots Sunday in Kabul said:

“I’m very happy because I voted according to my wish. There are people who have blood on their hands, they are standing as candidates. My complaint from president Karzai is that he let them run. Their own people, the murderers will vote for them, killers should not become people’s candidates.”

• Askar Best, woman doctor in Kabul who is working as the JEMB’s head of woman’s polling station at the Wazir Akbar Khan Mosque in central Kabul:

“My wish is that the elections that are taking place today, will be in the benefit of our country and our people who are trying hard and who are concerned that the elections could have negative consequences. May these elections open [a window of opportunity] for the people of Afghanistan.”

• Narguess, Kabul woman student, 20 years old, after voting Sunday morning:

“I voted for [candidates] whose doesn’t have blood on [his or her] hands. We voted for them and I except from them—God willing -- that our country reaches a high and good position.”

• Nafissa, 40-year old Kabul woman who teaches at a kindergarten in Kabul speaking after voting early Sunday:

“I vote for somebody who is a patriot, somebody who will do his best for the development of our country, somebody who would create peace and a good life for women.”

Violence Continues in Some Parts of Afghanistan

In the latest violence, two Afghan police and three suspected Taliban militants have been reported killed in a clash early today in Khost province, near the border with Pakistan.

Two U.S. soldiers were reported injured in the clash, which was reportedly sparked when militants attacked a police position.

Jan Mohammad, the governor of Afghanistan's Uruzgan province, said today that "Today in Shura district of Uruzgan province a few rockets were fired, and in the village of Moraba we discovered two remote control mines. There are no security concerns and all is secure."

"All people continue to participate in the election, and there are no problems in the province," Jan Mohammad said.

In another incident, a United Nations staff member is reported to have been injured in a rocket attack on a U.N. facility in Kabul.

At least 11 people - both police and suspected militants – were reported killed Saturday in clashes in the days leading to the vote, and officials said 20 militants had been arrested for trying to blow
up a dam in southern Helmand province.

(RFE/RL's Afghan Service/Agencies)

See also:

JEMB List of Candidates