阿富汗总统选举报道

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Voting is about half over in Afghanistan's elections, and so far there appeared to have gone ahead peacefully. About 17 million people are registered to cast the ballot. Queues are reported in cities where security is tightest but low in the country's south where the Taliban threat is greatest. President Hamid Karzai still leads in opinion polls but may not be able to win on the first ballot.

Can this man bring stability to one of the most dangerous places on earth? He certainly hopes so.

"This will be for peace, for progress and for the well-being of the Afghanistan people, and I request the Afghanistan people to come out and vote, so that through their vote Afghanistan can be a more secure, more peaceful and a better country."

And at this polling station, it seems many agree. Every voter is given the once over before entering the grounds. Once inside, it's a lengthy process--sheets of paper to choose a president and representatives of provincial councils. Then they give their own personal stamp as a proof that they voted. This is actually a liability. In some areas, the Taliban is threatening to chop off ink-stained fingers. But this man says Afghans must be brave. Abdullah Abdullah could prevent President Karzai from winning more than 50 percent of the vote, forcing him to a run-off. In the country's notorious Helmand Province, only a tiny stream of voters trickles in. The town of Dahaneh was recently taken by US and Afghan forces from the Taliban. This is the only polling station in the whole valley. But it seems one is plenty. Roughly 20 men have shown today, not a single woman inside. If the threat to violence isn't enough, many locals must walk kilometers to get to a booth, usually over rugged terrain.

"This is probably one of the most complex elections that's being attempted anywhere in 2009. You have problems of insecurity in Afghanistan. You have very difficult access to the country. You have very weak institutions."

One candidate says, if anything, things after the election could get worse.

"I do not want violence; I do not want intimidation in the post election environment. The possibility of Zimbabwe or Kenya is very real."

These are just some of the challenges the winner must confront once votes are counted on top of negotiating with notorious warlords for the sake of peace.

Peta-Jane Madam, World News Australia.

Glossary [only for reference]

go ahead [phrasal verb]: If an event goes ahead, it happens

register [intransitive and transitive]: to put someone's or something's name on an official list:

cast the ballot: to vote in the election

opinion poll: when people are asked questions to discover what they think about a subject:

well-being: the state of feeling healthy and happy

give sth/sb the once-over: to look at and examine something or someone briefly

liability [singular]: someone or something that is likely to cause problems for someone

chop something off [phrasal verb]: to remove something by cutting it with a sharp tool

run-off [countable]: a second competition or election that is arranged when there is no clear winner of the first one

stream: a continuous flow of things or people

trickle in: to arrive or move somewhere slowly and gradually, in small numbers

booth [=polling booth]: a small partly enclosed place in a polling station where you can vote secretly in an election

rugged terrain: land that is rugged is rough and uneven

if anything [spoken]: used when you are adding something to emphasize what you have just said

on top of sth: in addition to something, especially something unpleasant

warlord [countable]: the leader of an unofficial military group fighting against a government, king, or different group