Aug. 20
Lines were the exception around Kabul as Afghans turned out to cast their vote, with the threat of violence from the Taliban looming, during the second open elections in Afghanistan on Thursday.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
Aug. 20
In Kabul, there were few long lines in many of the schools that served as polling places, and rooms reserved for women to vote separately were often deserted except for polling monitors and officials.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
Aug. 20
A poll worker directs a voter at a local high school in Kabul on election day. Sporadic incidents of election-related violence were reported, but no major disruptions had occurred by mid-afternoon.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
Aug. 20
An Afghan woman prepares to cast her vote at a local mosque in Kabul. President Hamid Karzai was expected to win a plurality over three major rivals, leading to a second round of voting that he was also likely to win.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
Aug. 20
Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah, President Hamid Karzai's main rival, prepares to cast his vote surrounded by the crush of media at a local high school in Kabul.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
Aug. 20
Abdullah casts his vote as a crush of media organizations attempt to document the moment. Abdullah gained momentum in the election largely through a series of increasingly spirited campaign appearances in which he called for political change.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
Aug. 20
Afghan women prepare to cast their vote at a local mosque in Kabul. Taliban insurgents had been widely expected to try to attack polling places and voters. Leaders of the Islamist movement had threatened to kill or main anyone they caught who had voted.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
Aug. 20
Female voters make their way home after casting their vote near Kabul. Many voters, especially women, appeared reluctant to go to the polls this election.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
Aug. 20
An Afghan man prepares to cast his vote on election day in Istalif, an hour outside Kabul. Relatively low voter turnout in the Pashtun south, and stronger turnout in the north and west, were expected to hurt the reelection bid of favored President Hamid Karzai.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
Aug. 19
A policeman walks under a billboard featuring a voter education poster in the rugged mountains of the Panjshir Valley. Nervous residents prepare to elect a president on Aug. 20 after a surge in Taliban attacks as the government lashed out at the media, threatening to expel those who report violence on polling day.
Shah Marai-AFP/Getty Images
Aug. 19
Men guide their donkeys carrying election supplies in the rugged mountains of the Panjshir Valley. Afghan officials dispatched donkey trains into mountains laden with ballot boxes and voting papers, taking material for landmark elections to the most remote communities.
Shah Marai-AFP/Getty Images
Men prepare supplies at a polling station in Mazar-I-Sharif, Afghanistan. People will head to the polls on Aug. 20 to elect a new president.
Farzana Wahidy-AP
Aug. 19
A man stands by a massive billboard of president Hamid Karzai at a traffic circle in Kabul, Afghanistan. Security forces are on high alert as the Taliban have vowed to disrupt the Afghan elections. The incumbent President Karzai is considered to be the front runner despite claims of corruption and what many consider an ineffectual government.
Paula Bronstein-Getty Images
Aug. 18
An employee of the Herat municipality removes electoral posters from a wall in Herat, Afghanistan.
Behrouz Mehri-AFP/Getty Images
Aug. 18
Afzal Khan is photographed for man-on-the-street interviews on Presidential elections in Afghanistan. According to a recent poll, Abdullah Abdullah has 25 percent of the Afghan vote with President Hamid Karzai leading in the mid-40 percent range.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
Aug. 18
Ramazan Bashardost, a presidential candidate in the upcoming presidential election, talks with Afghans at his tent he named the Nation's Tent in Kabul, Afghanistan. Bashardost, a member of parliament and one of about 40 presidential candidates, spends much of his time working in the tent near the parliament building.
Musadeq Sadeq-AP
Aug. 18
An election official, right, speaks with an employee from the Independent Election Comission (IEC) as she waits for election kits for her village polling station at a government building in Enjil village.
Behrouz Mehri-AFP/Getty Images
Aug. 18
Election billboards are displayed in Kabul. Afghanistan's 17 million voters go to polls to vote in landmark presidential and provincial council elections on Aug. 20, but rampant insecurity and Taliban threats could affect the credibility of the polls.
Massoud Hossaini-AFP/Getty Images
Aug. 17
Supporters for Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah try to catch a glimpse of him during a rally at the National Stadium in Kabul, finding a vantage point on a fence surrounding the bleachers.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
Aug. 17
Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah is surrounded by a crush of supporters, media and security personnel as he arrives for a rally at the National Stadium in Kabul. Abdullah is largely considered to pose the biggest threat to President Hamid Karzai.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
Aug. 17
A supporter of Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah carries balloons into a rally at Kabul's National Stadium.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
Aug. 17
Supporters wait for the arrival of Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah at the National Stadium in Kabul.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
Aug. 17
Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah makes the most of the last days of campaigning during a rally at the National Stadium in Kabul.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
Aug. 17
Supporters enthusiastically rallied for Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah as they made their way to the street near the National Stadium following a rally in Kabul.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
Aug. 15
A man in blood-soaked clothing stands near the site of a suicide car-bombing outside NATO headquarters in Kabul. The blast, which killed seven and injured 91 Afghans, comes five days before the scheduled Aug. 20 elections, and is the most serious indication yet of the Taliban's designs to disrupt the election through violence.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
Aug. 15
A 12-year-old boy lays injured and bandaged at Wazir Akbar Khan Hospital after the attack in Kabul. If such violence succeeds in scaring voters away from the polls, a low turnout could cast doubts on the legitimacy of the election results.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
Aug. 15
A woman cries as she waits for news of her husband's health after a bomb exploded outside the NATO headquarters in Kabul.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
Aug. 15
An injured man leaves the Wazir Akbar Khan Hospital in Kabul after being treated for minor injuries after a car bomb exploded in front of the NATO headquarters in Kabul. The Islamist militia, which is fighting NATO and Afghan forces for control in wide swaths of the country, has fired rockets into Kabul in recent days, but the attack Saturday was the most brutal in the heart of the capital in six months.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
Aug. 12
Intrigued by the stranger holding her, 15-month-old Beheshta looks up with a smile at Afghan presidential candidate and former finance minister Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, as he waits to speak to women from the Malal group at his home in Kabul.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
Aug. 12
Adiba, 17, of Kabul, shows her support for candidate Ahmadza during an election campaign speech.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
Presidential candidate Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai speaks to women in Kabul. Afghans will head to the polls on Aug. 20 to elect the new president.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
Aug. 9
Afghan presidential candidate Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, surrounded by supporters, is helped onto the stage during a rally in Istalif, Afghanistan.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
Aug. 7
An Afghan boy waits for the arrival of President Hamid Karzai at the National Stadium in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
Aug. 7
A group of women gather at the National Stadium, where Afghan President Hamid Karzai spoke at a rally in Kabul.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
Aug. 7
Afghan men dance before the the arrival of Afghan President Hamid Karzai for a rally at the National Stadium in Kabul. The event was held in close proximity to the site where an assassination attempt was made on Karzai's life two years ago.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
Aug. 7
An supporter of President Hamid Karzai dances during a rally for at the National Stadium in Kabul.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
Aug. 6
Afghanistan Presidential candidate Dr. Abdullah Abdullah arrives back in Kabul after a rally in Maymana. The candidate said he was humbled by the sentiment and emotions of the people.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
Aug. 6
Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah, center, arrives on an old Russian aircraft for a rally in Maymana, Afghanistan.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
Aug. 6
A group of supporters gather on the tarmac to greet Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah in Maymana, Afghanistan.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
Aug. 6
Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah, center, is greeted by a tribal elder in Maymana, Afghanistan.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
Aug. 6
A group of young girls attend a rally for Afghan presidential candidate Dr. Abdullah Abdullah in Maymana, the capital of Faryab Province in Northern Afghanistan.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
Aug. 6
Supporters chase after Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah's car, as he heads to a rally in Maymana, Afghanistan.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
Aug. 6
Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah, right, greets a young supporter while waiting to take the stage in Maymana, Afghanistan.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
Aug. 6
A member of Abdullah Abdullah's security detail tries to subdue a rush of supporters, vying to get a position in front of the stage at a rally in Maymana, Afghanistan.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
Aug. 6
Several thousand people gather for a rally to support Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah in Maymana, Afghanistan. Abdullah stated his belief that trust between the government and people needs to be restored.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
Aug. 6
Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah waves to supporters as he leaves a rally in Maymana, Afghanistan.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
Aug. 6
A member of Abdullah Abdullah's security detail watches the crowd for danger after a rally in Maymana, Afghanistan.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
Aug. 6
Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah naps on his way back to Kabul following a rally in Maymana, Afghanistan.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
Aug. 1
Afghan men sacrifice a cow for Afghan President Hamid Karzai's visit, while shielding themselves from the spray of debris as a his helicopter arrives in Dar-e-Kayan.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
Aug. 1
Afghan President Hamid Karzai arrives under heavy guard at a rally in Baghlan Province, Afghanistan. Karzai became Afghanistan's first popularly-elected president in 2004.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
Aug. 1
Several thousand people from Baghlan Province, invited by religious leader Sayed Mansour Nadiri, gather at a rally for Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Dar-e-Kayan, Afghanistan.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
July 31
An Afghan man helps to prepare a meal for several thousand people gathered at the invitation of religious leader Sayed Mansour Nadiri for a rally in support of President Karzai in Baghlan Province, Afghanistan.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
July 31
Afghan women gather, at the invitation of religious leader Sayed Mansour Nadiri, for a rally in support of President Karzai.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
July 31
A crowd of supporters gather to support Afghan Presiden Karzai.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
July 31
Supporters wait for Afghan President Hamid Karzai to arrive at a rally in Dar-e-Kayan, Afghanistan.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
July 31
Crowds watch from atop a wall as Afghan religious leader Sayed Mansour Nadiri, a supporter of Hamid Karzai, makes his entrance in Dar-e-Kayan, Afghanistan.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
Aug. 3
Afghan presidential candidate Shahla Ata meets with local supporters at her office in Kabul, Afghanistan. Ata is one of two women running for president and is currently a member of Parliament in Kabul.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
Aug. 3
Afghan presidential candidate Shahla Ata poses for a portrait at her office in Kabul, Afghanistan. Ata spent time in Pakistan and the U.S. before returning to Afghanistan following the fall of the Taliban in 2001.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
July 30
Afghan presidential candidate Ramzan Bashardost, former minister of planning and current member of Parliament, takes a phone call in Kabul, Afghanistan. Bashardost's campaign office is a single tent pitched across the street from the Afghan Parliament.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
July 30
A poster of Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah hangs on a column at Ariana Wedding Hall in Kabul, Afghanistan. A security detail kept a watchful eye during Abdullah's speech to a crowd of supporters. Abdullah served as Minister of Foreign Affairs in President Karzai's cabinet from 2002 to 2006.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
July 30
Tribal elders listen to presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah during an event organized by Hazara leader Ali Urfani in Kabul, Afghanistan. Abdullah is largely considered to pose the biggest threat to President Karzai this election.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
July 30
Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah speaks to a crowd of supporters in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
Gallery Credits:
Photo Editors Chris Dunn, Stephen Cook
Producer Chris Dunn
Text Editor Channing Turner
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Karzai Vies for Reelection in Afghanistan
Abdullah Runs as Afghanistan's Top Challenger