then there's zalmai rassoul, the top pick of hamid karzai. his running mate for vice president is a woman. he's unmarried which is unusual for a politician in afghanistan. >> abdullah abdullah ran for president back in 2009. he finished a distant second, a former eye doctor. he has served as afghanistan's foreign minister. there's a lot of focus an zalmai rassoul, the one most like hamid karzai. we look at what his victory could mean. >> even those hoping to run the country can't run the roads. this is a spot which is a 2 hour drive from the capital, a journey too dangerous for him. previously foreign minister zalmai rassoul is seen as hamid karzai's chosen successor. that support, however, could come with a legacy of corruption linked to this government. >> the hamid karzai government will be very well-known for a long time for horrendous levels of corruption. you were part of that government. what will you do differently? >> i think i - first of all i have not been involved in corruption issues. i repeat myself, that the fact that i have be

then there's zalmai rassoul, the top pick of outgoing president of hamid karzai. his running mate is a woman. he's unmarried, which is unusual for a politician in afghanistan. then there's abdullah abdullah. he ran for president back in 2009, finishing is distant second to hamid karzai. he is a former eye doctor. >> let's talk about zalmai rassoul, he's believed to be hamid karzai's top pick. jane ferguson takes a look at what his victory could mean. >> even those hoping to run this country can't travel its roads. this presidential candidate's helicopter lands at a spot which is a 2-hour drive from the capital, a journey considered too dangerous for him. previously foreign minister zalmai rassoul is seen as hamid karzai's chosen successor. that support, however, could come with a legacy of corruption linked to the government. >> the hamid karzai government will be very well-known for a long time for horrendous levels of corruption. >> you were part of the government. what will you do differently? >> first of all, i have not been involved in corruption issues. the

he has been the foreign minister. >> let's talk about zalmai rassoul. he's the one considered to be most like hamid karzai. jane ferguson looks at what his victory could mean. >> each those hoping to run this country can't travel by road. the presidential helicopter lands at a spot which is a 2-hour drive from the capital, a journey too dangerous for him. previously foreign minister zalmai rassoul is seen as hamid karzai's chosen successor. that support, however, could come with a legacy of corruptionlinged to the government -- corruption linked to the government. >> the hamid karzai government will be well-known for a long time for horrendous levels of corruption, you were part of the government. what will you do differently. >> i have not been involved in corruption issues. i repeat myself, that the fact that i had been involved, i know what is happening. i know which kind of thing you should do to correct that. i want to put this experience that i got, the achievement and lack of achievement in the service of afghan people. >> while zalmai rassoul wa

zalmai rassoul , and dr. ashraf ghani. has a potential to create a problem in the first and second rounds is the big margins between dr. zalmai rassoul and the two front runners. thetwo front-runners, margin of difference between them is almost by 1/3. is way lower than the two front running. the difference between dr. israf ghani and dr. abdullah one percent. >> 20 presenting, 19% -- >> 27% versus 8%. this is a fear a lot of people in afghanistan have. if zalmai rassoul is somehow hehed to the second round or becomes the candidate that gets the second highest number of that in the first round, will raise a lot of questions. the polls have constantly shown his low level of support. and it is highly likely the elections will go to a second round. considering the composition of the teams that we have. , there are some accusations among pashtuns because he sided with dostum, considered to have war crimes -- to have committed a war crime atrocities. on his team, he managed to vastly increase his constituency. in the 2009 presi

let's go back to zalmai rassoul, hamid karzai's top pick.is campaign was hit by allegations of fraud. he's calling on afghans to pout their faith in the electoral process. >> we put our request to the commission. it's up to them to decide. i'm confident they will look to that carefully. any president elected will not be legitimate for afghanistan. >> president obama offered his congratulations to the afghan people. in a statement the president said: >> people in india go the the polls starting on monday to cast ballots in the biggest elections. voting for the next prime minister will be held in nine stages over the next six weeks, we have this report from the north-east of ibdia -- india. >> the shreeking noise you here is the voting machines being tested. hundreds of officials gathered to collect and test the machines before taking them to their home constituencies. all votes will be cast by the machine, there'll be no paper ballots. it will be first of had time voting for half a million voters. it sounds like a lot. it's a fraction of the

afghans had three main voices, abdullah abdullah, ashraf ghani ahmadzai, and zalmai rassoul. we probably won't know who has won for several weeks. as bernard smith reports, this is a proud day for many afghans. >> the queue started forming well before kabul's polling stations opened. despite the taliban threats to target the election, people wanted to vote. in afghanistan's 5,000-year history it marks the first democratic transfer of power. people here are eager to seize the chance. >> we don't care about the threat from the taliban. i don't have a threat from taliban. >> 12 million people were eligible to vote. in parts of the country polling stations were closed, where the taliban held sway. this is the scene across the country, people queue up after going through a security check. they dip their finger in indelible ink, go in to the booth to cast their vote and ballot. the blue one is for the presidential election, the green for the provincial election. the presidential vote is easy. the provincial elections, they get six pages, each like this. there are 400 candidates in

the other two are zalmai rassoul, and ashraf ghani ahmadzai. one will have to win 50% of the vote to avoid the run-off. the taliban told civilians they'll be targeted if they try to vote. there are plenty ignoring the warning. there's effort to minimise the risk of fraud. ballot boxes are sealed and coded and tracked. eat voter dips their finger in ink so they don't vote again. >> four weeks after malaysian airlines flight mh370 vanished. there's new hope that the jot may be found. a chinese ship reportedly detected a signal matching the frequency of the black box. it was found off the coast of az's west coast. the signal or a ping was detected this morning. three members of the ship's crew heard it but did not have time to record it. it is yet to be confirmed as coming from the flight recorder. experts say the black box's batteries last for about 30 days. >> rallies across the country protesting washington's policy. it's called too many. this month is the obama administration's 2 millionth deportation. live to atlanta, where a protest is takin

zalmai rassoul was a close confidant of karzai. despite the range of candidates, mohammed has no plans to vote because he fears there could be repercussions. his mosque received a threatening level -- letter for registering people to vote. >> i had my voter card in my pocket, but the taliban have threatened us. if we go to vote, they will burn down my house. >> not far from his village, the taliban gather in front of our camera. the warning is clear. whoever votes puts their life in danger. >> we are not interested in elections. democracy has brought nothing good to our people. that is why we will not allow elections to be held in our country. >> but these threads are not going to determine the afghans, who are determined to vote. they are hoping for a peaceful election day. and a choice that is as free and fair as possible, under the circumstances. >> time for a reality check. john kerry says washington is considering pulling out of its role in monitoring the middle east peace process, with talks on the bring of collapse. >> benja

zalmai rassoul is another, and ashraf ghani ahmadzai. kabul was locked down as part of a nation-wide security operation mobilizing 400 security personal. that helped to bring the number of attacks to afghanistan. ballot counting started since polls closed. there are aless of fraud being made. that will test the independence of the election commission. >> complaints could be handled, because we don't know how the election and complants commission will act during the past experience. it remains to act whether it is sin sorely or in favour -- sincerely or in favour of a candidate. the commission is not expected to announce preliminary results for four to five days. this was never expected to be a poll free of fraud, but how much there is will determine whether afghans except the commission's decision on the winner. >> with our weeks after malaysia airlines flight mh370 vanished there's new hope that the jet will be found. a signal matching the frequency of the black box was detected. it matches the area being searched, about 1,000 miles off

and zalmai rassoul, serving as foreign minister, and has been one of hamid karzai's closestal lies. >> well, many afghan came out to vote, despite the threat of violence. here is what some had to say? >> i voted for the welfare of my country, the future and the rebuilding. i'm happy, and now i'm going back. >> as an afghan woman, i've come to cast my vote. i ask all afghan women to come and vote. >> the police are providing us with security. happily we have dom cast our votes. >> if no candidate wins more than 50% of the vote, a second round must be held between the two top contenders. results will not be known until mid may. the new president is unlikely to be in place before july and august. there are an estimated 12 million voters, and around 12 million voter registration cards are in circulation, raising concerns about fraud. there's 6,800 centres. for many casting a vote, it was hours travelling. >> let's go bernard smith, standing by in kabul. how is the big day shaping up? >> elizabeth, it's pouring with rain, we've had thunter and light -- thunder and lightening and the threat

zalmai rassoul, the former foreign minister, who is still a close ally of karzai's. and ashraf ghani, a former finance minister who came out of nowhere, whose driven voters like alab safi to the polls like never before. why do you feel so strongly about this, so passionate? >> because he's one. he's the one to think about our future. he's the one. he's the best person. >> reporter: that's why you came out today? >> that's why i came here, yes. >> reporter: official preliminary results may be weeks away, understandable when they have to rely on 4,000 donkeys to carry back ballots over mountainous terrain. >> axelrod: charlie d'agata joins us now from kabul. charlie, there had been a surge in violence predicted around the time of the elections but it never seemed to materialize. are people surprised about that? >> reporter: very surprised. i think everybody here is bracing for the worst, and it may say something about the capability of the afghan security forces that it didn't happen. and, of course, we are reminded of the unpredictable nature of that violence and the

outgoing president hamid karzai cast his vote and a top c contender zalmai rassoul cast his at the polling stags. he's believed to have hamid karzai's backing, but officials warn of possible corruption in his campaign. bernard smith has more. >> we've had thunder, lightening, it's poring with rain and there's the threat of violence. kabul, the city is on lockdown. there are checkpoints every 200m. >> despite all of that we are seeing long queues at polling stations with kav gans determined to take part in an historic poll. this will be the first time in a 5,000 year history that there has been a democratic transfer of power. the taliban say they'll target all those taking part in the vote. there has been attempts around the country by the taliban to disrupt the vote, but they are not having much of an impact. there's a concern about fraud and the rest of a police officer and an nds security chief after they were found stuffing five ballot boxes with voting papers. despite that we are told that the turn out is high, and nobody is expecting a perfect election. nobody is expecting a fraud-fre

to zalmai rassoul, he is considered a very weak person, not only him but the vice president he has. his second vice president used to be a governor. it will help him to secure some votes of women. as entire team is seen as, we say in afghanistan, a just saying team. whatever karzai says. >> i just want to follow up on something general allen set. this is an excellent analysis. i went to tee up one issue. president karzai is still 70% popular in afghanistan. he is not 70% popular in washington, but he is 70% popular in afghanistan. i'm trying to think through this question ron and i were focusing on. what are rassoul's real prospects? there is a certain undercurrent that if rassoul wins, it must mean something was fraudulent. i want to push back a little and ask you the following. isn't it possible that because afghans doi's guy, not mind that. he is a candidate of continuity and will not rock the boat too much. d, some might prefer stability. because he does not have the negatives of the other two, either dostum or a strong tajik association of dr. abdullah. ir all these reasons, an

. >> the other top candidate, zalmai rassoul, hamid karzai's favourite candidate - he will probably not be happy. his strong hold, the pashtun areas, there may have been issues there. >> yes, some of the areas that were more likely to support him. but russell's funny. there has been a lot of speculation that he didn't want to be in the election. he ran an enthusiastic campaign. i don't think he had a fight in him to try to contest if a count is in favour of abdullah abdullah. >> what kind of difference will it make depending on who wins for the united states. >> both candidates have said that they'll sign the bilateral security agreement to keep american forces in the country. >> hamid karzai refused to sign. >> there's going to be a bit of a reset with whatever candidate gets in, there's a lot of deeper problems, but there's a question of who is sitting in the presidential palace, and they will sour the relationship. >> the debate as to how much disruption the taliban caused, some say there was nothing, the taliban saying they conducted 1,000 separate attacks, what do you think the tru

then there's zalmai rassoul, the top pick of hamid karzai. his running mate is a woman. and abdullah abdullah, karzai's former minister, but ran against him and lost. joining us to discuss this is a senior staff writer at al jazeera. he has years of experience covering afghanistan, and sara nice, with the international rescue committee. they are on set with us. a lot of people are looking to this election in afghanistan, claiming a victory, patting themselves on the back. there's not a lot of violence. is this a huge step forward for democracy in afghanistan? >> we have been working with afghan community for 30 years. the fear is that there has been elections, military and international forces are drawing down, maybe it's time to wash our hands of afghanistan. >> that is the thought, and they look at the election as maybe it is time to pull away. >> there are massive needs in the country. the u.s. government spent 1.6 trillion for the war effort. 0.025% could provide urgent life-saving needs for all of the people with urgent needs this year. it's staggering what a small

dealing with a situation where it's likely that the next president, it could be arshaf ghani, zalmai rassoulbdullah abdullah, all three have said they will sign things. this is a chance for the international community to give in a little bit--to give and take a little bit more than they have. and for the afghan government to reset it's own position with the international community. they still need the support, and without the bsa, no more troops, no more money, and then afghanistan is going to be in a position where they cannot continue to progress the way they have over the last decade. >> one other interesting note about this particular election not just the presidential election but even the council election among their different provinces. there are 300 women seeking office throughout the country of afghanistan, and even some those running for president have used their wives to address women's issues in front of rallies. one of the candidates has a female as running mate for vice president. how will the women affect this election in afghanistan? >> let me put this in two ways. first, i b

only zalmai rassoul is suggesting no one got more than 50%, meaning a run off is necessary, and he says he has enough votes to be one of the two. >> when the polls closed, ballots counted and results published on the wall. only when the election commission has 5% of the vote, will it announce the initial estimation of who won the presidential election. >> that provisional calculation should be released within the next few days. >> seb aftion younger is an author and war correspondent. he's the author of "war", and "estreppo", he joined me earlier and i asked what he thought was next for afghanistan? >> ironically, on 9/11 our tragedy brought some stability to that country. the taliban were knocked over very easily, and quite a period of stability started after 9/11. i don't think anyone could have imagined a relatively peaceful successful election like they had. if you go back 10-15 years, it would be inconceivable to a lot of people. >> they held elections, who should be in power there? >> i'm a little biased. i knew very well dr abdullah abdullah. he was a right hand man of massued. d

he worked for the west bank for a decade, then zalmai rassoul, with a female as a running mate.nd abdullah abdullah, he was foreign minister and ran against hamid karzai, but lost in 2009. we met with jamie, a senior staff writer at al jazeera, and has years of experience covering afghanistan, and sara, with the international rescue committee. >> right now the big fear is that - look, there has been elections, military and afghan forces are drilling down. maybe it's time to wash our hands. but there are massive needs. the government has spent 1.6 trillion. 0.025% of that could provide life-saving needs for all of the people with urgent needs. looking at the moment of seeing the election we saw with 7 million people coming out to vote. nearly 16 prd. what are you struck by. >> we saw horrific moments of violence. what struck most people is it was less than a normal day in afghanistan. the turn out was high, but was high in certain places, where the taliban influence is strong, in the south-east. many did not go out to vote. in other parts of the country polling stations were clos

are: former finance minister ashraf ghani, and former foreign ministers abdullah abdullah and zalmai rassoul, widely reported to be karzai's favorite. many afghans say they are eager to have their say, with stability, prosperity and security uppermost in their minds. >> ( translated ): people in general are worried about the security situation but the upcoming election is a positive move towards changing our destiny, i hope everyone will participate in the election. >> sreenivasan: if successful, the election will mark the first democratic transition of power in the country's history. karzai has served since december of 2001, but his re-election to a second term was marred by allegations of extensive fraud. in addition, he's been criticized for an unwillingness to tackle corruption. karzai also refuses to sign a bilateral security agreement allowing some u.s. troops to remain in afghanistan. otherwise, all foreign forces will leave by year's end, and afghan security forces will be put to the test in keeping their country safe. karzai's would-be successors are expected to endorse the security

his favorite candidate is thought to be zalmay rassoul, a 70-year-old former foreign minister. ashraf ghani, a former world bank official and finance minister, got just 3% of the vote in 2009 against karzai. he said this election presented a choice for the taliban, too: >> they are going to deal with a genuinely elected government that is keen to establish its links with the public, that represents the will of the public and they need to make a choice; are they afghans or agents of foreigners? >> warner: the third leading candidate is one-time karzai ally dr. abdullah abdullah; he served as foreign minister after the ouster of the taliban. >> ( translated ): today's event can be the beginning of the democratic process in the history of afghanistan and one step ahead toward a better future. >> warner: abdullah got nearly 30% against karzai in 2009 in an election marred by fraud, ballot-box stuffing and official corruption; by some accounts, more than a million of the 4.5 million votes cast were deemed fraudulent. at a dramatic gathering of his supporters in november that year, a

zalmai rassoul says he has enough votes to be one of the two.hen the polls closed, ballots counselled and results published. only when the election commission got in 5% of the vote, from 27 of afghanistan's 34 prove since will it announce a new estimation of who won the president cal vote. >> the provincial calculation should be released within the next few days. >> once of the election is completed. it will mark afghanistan's first drementic transition of power. >> north korea has reportedly executed a government official with a flame thrower. he's one of 11 high-ranging officials -- ranking official killed or gaoled. he ordered the execution of his uncle. one killed was the uncle's older sister. the man burned alive was a senior official accused of protecting the sister. >> more than 2 million people have been deported from the u.s. some say they are american citizens, and this is the only home they have known. adam raney has the story of several men fighting to stay on u.s. soil. >> this man is caught in an endless cycle. he is deported, cros

the other one was linked to a violent insurgent group and mr karzai a former foreign minister zalmai rassoul who is believed to be his favorite pick appears to be running behind but it is going to be quite some time until we get the official results and i have to say that the choice of candidates has not dampened enthusiasm here people did turn out to vote in record numbers in a country that has seen its share of coups violent overthrow is installed governments this election will certainly mark the first time the power is handed over by a democratic vote so it is a very important milestone now there were over three thousand complaints of fraud officials do say that only half of those will be investigated because of a lack of evidence the biggest problem though was a shortage of ballots across the country now that is likely due to the high turnout but it also could be because of ballot stuffing that's one concern and that is something that still needs to be investigated and of course despite the high turnout there were small parts of the country that barely saw any voters such as districts in