Kabul: A sea of Afghans waving flags and
championing presidential hopeful Abdullah Abdullah staged a
spectacular rally on the last day of campaigning today for key
elections overshadowed by Taliban threats.
Afghanistan`s 17 million voters go to polls Thursday to
elect a president for the second time in history and 420
councillors in 34 provinces in a massive operation clouded by
insecurity and logistical headaches.
President Hamid Karzai, who has ruled since the late 2001
US-led invasion overthrew the Taliban regime, is tipped to win
but a strong campaign from former foreign minister Abdullah
has raised the chance of a run-off.
Thousands of people poured into a Kabul stadium, once a
notorious Taliban execution ground, wearing blue baseball
hats, carrying pictures of Abdullah and chanting his name over
and over again.
In a vote stunt rare for Afghanistan, a helicopter
circled overhead, dropping hundreds of papers marked with
Abdullah`s photo, election sign and number as marked on the
ballot paper to help even the illiterate majority vote.
"Hey compatriots, wake up, it is time for a big change,"
said the papers written in the three most common Afghan
languages, Dari, Pashtu and Uzbeki.
Bureau Report
