Sattar Saadat, the head of the Electoral Complaints Commission says the group will start recording allegations of electoral fraud an other complaints at midnight , Afghanistan time and the process will continue for 48 hours. Saadat told RFE/RL's Afghan Service he doubted reports of lack of ballot papers at some voting stations.
"It is too soon to say anything about fairness of the process, allegations of fraud and technical shortages. Electoral fraud exists even in the worlds' most developed countries. Every one knows that Afghanistan has a particular condition [in relation to elections] -- insecurity, the existence of warlords, a lack of the culture of elections and democracy are all major challenges. Fortunately, the turnout was huge and I did not expect this to happen."
"Unexpectedly, people said no to all kinds of challenges, tolerated the rain, the harsh weather, and voted. We have already received some complaints, At least 58 complaints were officially recorded an hour ago. We received over 500 complaints over telephone. Major complaints came from Wardak, Parwan, Kapisa, Kandahar and so on. We will look at all of them."
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Many people see the lack of widespread Taliban attacks as a clear victory for democracy. Throughout the day, photos of purple-fingered voters were shared on Twitter as an affront to Taliban threats.
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Ghani speaks to RFE/RL, criticizes ballot issues
Ashraf Ghani, who was leading in polling before today's election, spoke with RFE/RL's Afghan Service shortly after polls closed today.
"The lack of sufficient ballot papers all over the country, especially in the north and in Kabul needs to be investigated, and explained," he said. "We are hoping that the Afghan Elections Commission will provide the necessary explanation and give our people an explanation of these particular matters."
"It is too early to say anything about the fairness of the vote because we are not in a situation where all votes have been counted," he added.
Presidential candidate Ashraf Ghani speaks to journalists in Kabul, April 2, 2014
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Afghan Election Commission chief estimates 58 percent turnout
Ahmad Yousuf Nouristani estimated that 7 million of a possible 12 million voters had cast ballots. He said the estimates were based on preliminary figures.
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Frud Bezhan writes about the problems with ballot shortages today, which were reported in as many as 15 of the country's 34 provinces. The limits on ballots was meant to prevent fraud, but some worry that the shortages could detract from the legitimacy of the vote.
