i'm melissa chen welcome to news asia thanks for joining us losing your life just to cast your ballot that's a very real risk for the people of afghanistan the taliban has issued nonstop threats against saturday's presidential vote and despite a massive security operation voters have every reason to fear war than 170 people were killed or injured at polling stations on the 1st day of last year's parliamentary elections it was the single deadliest day for civilians in 2018 at the polls afghans face conditions that would test anyone's patients waiting for hours in long lines and also doubt in the whole process because of the country's history of voter fraud taking part in afghanistan's young democracy takes guts. it's scenes like this that the afghan government is desperate to avoid on election day the security plan to protect voters at polling stations was 8 months in the making but violence is just one of the challenges facing the officials organizing the elections 5 years ago allegations of systematic fraud marred the last one abdullah abdullah the man who lost to the current preside