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Afghan election officials count ballot papers after polls closed in Kabul on June 14.
Afghan election officials count ballot papers after polls closed in Kabul on June 14.

Live Blog: Election Day In Afghanistan

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-- The vote count continues, as does the investigation into hundreds of claims of vote fraud. Final preliminary results are expected on July 2, and final results on July 22.

-- Many media refrained from reporting violence during the vote, but officials said June 15 that more than 270 Taliban attacks were recorded, resulting in the deaths of 50 civilians.

-- In one attack, a roadside bomb exploded beside a minibus that was carrying Afghan election workers home, killing 10 adults and a child.

-- Taliban militants severed the voting fingers of 11 voters in Herat Province.

-- The Independent Electoral Commission initially said that there were signs that voter turnout exceeded 7 million, putting it roughly on par with the first-round vote in April.

-- Officials said that, of those who turned out, 38 percent were women and 62 percent were men.

* NOTE: Times are stated according to local time in Kabul
11:37 10.6.2014
12:05 10.6.2014
Babrak Noorzad, in this opinion piece for Khama Press, notes the lack of women participating in the electoral campaign.

Noorzad writes that "lack of women's participation in the election campaigns results in uniformed voting, likely based on the wishes of the men in the house."

The assessment that the issue is "a common phenomenon across the world" and that in the United States "if the husband is a Republican the wife will most likely vote Republican and the Democrats also follow suit" is questionable.

But Noorzad gives a general rundown of some the factors that could prevent women from going to the polls, such as societal and cultural sensitivities, violence, and the electoral commission's failure to address the problem quickly enough.
12:12 10.6.2014
"It is not important whether Dr. Abdullah or Ashraf Ghani wins. What I want is peace and development in the country."

-- unidentified Afghan trader speaking to Kabul-based Ariana TV on June 8
13:09 10.6.2014
Radio Free Afghanistan reports: “813 polling stations to be closed on election day.”
13:32 10.6.2014
13:33 10.6.2014
More details from Radio Free Afghanistan:

Mohammad Salem Ehsas, head of the Election Security Commission, said 813 polling stations will be closed on election day due to “security threats.” In total, there are 7169 polling stations nationwide.

Ehsas, speaking at a press conference in Kabul today, said the polling stations that will be closed are in the provinces of Herat, Nimroz, Kunar, and Badakhshan. All these provinces have experienced a recent uptick in violence.
13:35 10.6.2014
13:59 10.6.2014
From dpa:
Armed men abducted 36 Kandahar University lecturers on Tuesday (June 10) as they were travelling from south-eastern Afghanistan to the capital city, officials said.
The lecturers were abducted in Qara Bagh district of Ghazni province at 9:40 am (0510 GMT) on Tuesday, Defense Ministry spokesman Zahir Azimi said via twitter.
13:59 10.6.2014
Ashraf Ghani publishes a meticulous 250-page election "manifesto" in English on his personal website. The document was first published in Pashto and Dari several weeks ago.
14:03 10.6.2014

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