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Afghans vote in landmark poll
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QUICKVOTEYOUR E-MAIL ALERTS(CNN) -- Afghan voters have gone to the polls amid heavy security to choose a legislature for the first time in decades. Sunday's landmark election for representatives to the national parliament and local legislators in 34 provinces came after weeks of violence by militants trying to derail the vote. The U.S. military and Afghan police provided security at more than 6,100 polling places and post-election counting stations. Quick-reaction forces were in place in each province to respond to attacks. Polls closed at 4 p.m. (1130 GMT, 7:30 a.m. EDT), but voters remaining in line were allowed to cast ballots. Violence was a continuing threat, but the U.N.-Afghan election commission said voting had been relatively peaceful, and the government said the poll was a victory over the insurgents. "We have not had a single civilian casualty," Reuters quoted Interior Ministry spokesman Lutfullah Mashal as saying. "It went very well, beyond our expectations. After all their boasting, it's a big failure for the Taliban." About 12.5 million Afghans were registered to vote in the elections for a lower house of parliament and provincial councils, the first legislative poll since 1969. Chief electoral officer Peter Erben said he thought turnout was high, but independent observers said it seemed lower than in the 2004 presidential election, when 70 percent of voters went to the polls, Reuters reported. "We are making history," President Hamid Karzai said as he cast his ballot, according to The Associated Press. "It's the day of self-determination for the Afghan people. After 30 years of wars, interventions, occupations and misery, today Afghanistan is moving forward, making an economy, making political institutions." A U.S. soldier and two Afghan soldiers were injured when their patrol came under fire from suspected Taliban militants, said Tech. Sgt. Marina Evans, a U.S. military spokeswoman. The attack occurred about 16 kilometers (10 miles) north of the U.S. forward operating base, Salerno, near the city of Khost. A U.S. forward operating base at Baylough, near a polling station in the Deh Chopan Valley -- an area traditionally known as a Taliban stronghold -- came under mortar fire on Sunday. Local police and U.S. military officials said five mortar rounds were fired from about 5 kilometers (3 miles) away. None of the mortars struck the base and no one was injured, authorities said. Also Sunday, a rocket struck a warehouse used by the United Nations on the edge of Kabul, according to a U.N. spokesman in Kabul. The rocket caused a small fire, and one staff member sustained minor injuries, but the spokesman said the attack would not affect the elections. A few hours before, a French soldier was killed and two others injured in an attack in the town of Spin Buldak on the border with Pakistan, according to France's Defense Ministry. The attack involved an improvised explosive device. This is the third French service member killed during Operation Enduring Freedom. In a demonstration of how much the country has changed since the ruling Taliban were toppled nearly four years ago, many of the early voters at the Eid Gah mosque in Kabul were women, who, under the Taliban, had been barred from participating in national life. At the Deh Chopan Valley polling station, however, no women were among the voters who lined up outside as early as 6 a.m. to cast their ballots. While two women are among the region's candidates, neither visited the area because of concern regarding Taliban attacks. In October's presidential election, only 34 people voted at Deh Chopan. But as of about 1 p.m. Sunday, 810 villagers had cast ballots. The valley has about 50,000 residents, several thousand of whom are registered to vote. Voters were treated to a free lunch of lamb and rice. Inside the polling station, confusion was rampant. Many voters did not know who to support, as they have not met the regional candidates. There are no schools in the area, and most voters cannot read. Some were confused about having their fingers inked. They turned out to vote, however, in a show of support for Karzai's government, and consulted with one another on who to vote for. Some men said they voted for the female candidates. Others said they voted for another candidate, reportedly a former Taliban commander, simply because they recognized his picture. For weeks, as the vote approached, U.S. and Afghan forces have battled Islamic militants, including remnants of the Taliban. Three policemen and seven militants were killed Friday, and 20 people were arrested Saturday in a plot to plant bombs at a hydroelectric dam in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan, the Afghan government said. At least six candidates for office have been killed, and 17 U.S. troops have died in Afghanistan since August, most in combat-related incidents. Afghan security forces and citizens have also died. Last week, Human Rights Watch issued a report saying that the process leading up to the elections "has been undermined by insurgent attacks and intimidation by warlords." The U.N. secretary-general's special representative in Afghanistan, Jean Arnault, condemned the violence and intimidation of candidates on Saturday, but he said he believes the country is developing a solid new political culture and "a sense that the legacy of the rule of the gun can be resisted is now taking root." CNN Correspondent Ryan Chilcote and journalist Tom Coghlan contributed to this report. Copyright 2005 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report. 
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