{"page":"\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/resources-572d6a42.css\" /\u003e\n\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/lp_boclips_stylesheets-f4d0de30.css\" media=\"all\" /\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-title='Security as voting gets underway in national elections' data-url='/boclips/videos/5c54bf0dd8eafeecae14034c' data-video-url='/boclips/videos/5c54bf0dd8eafeecae14034c' id='bo_player_modal'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='boclips-resource-page modal-dialog panel-container'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='react-notifications-root'\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-header'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-type'\u003e\n\u003ci aria-hidden='true' class='fai fa-regular fa-circle-play'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\nVideo\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch1 class='rp-title' id='video-title'\u003e\nSecurity as voting gets underway in national elections\n\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-actions'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='mr-1'\u003e\n\u003ca class=\"btn btn-success\" data-posthog-event=\"Signup: LP Signup Activity\" data-posthog-location=\"body_link_boclips\" data-remote=\"true\" href=\"/subscription/new\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGet Free Access\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e for 10 Days\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e!\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-body'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-info'\u003e\n\u003cdiv aria-label='Hide resource details' class='rp-hide-info' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Expand resource details' class='rp-expand-info fai fa-solid fa-up-right-and-down-left-from-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Compress resource details' class='rp-compress-info fai fa-solid fa-down-left-and-up-right-to-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-rating'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='resource-pool'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-label'\u003ePublisher:\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-name'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='text'\u003e\u003ca data-publisher-id=\"30356011\" href=\"/search?publisher_ids%5B%5D=30356011\"\u003eCurated Video\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-description'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='short-description'\u003e1. Wide of Kabul street 2. Wide of Afghan police at road block3. Low short of Afghan police officer holding automatic weapon4. Close-up of Afghan police officer5. Various of Afghan police at road block as cars drive through6. Various of...\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='full-description hide'\u003e1. Wide of Kabul street \u003cbr/\u003e2. Wide of Afghan police at road block\u003cbr/\u003e3. Low short of Afghan police officer holding automatic weapon\u003cbr/\u003e4. Close-up of Afghan police officer\u003cbr/\u003e5. Various of Afghan police at road block as cars drive through\u003cbr/\u003e6. Various of Afghan police searching car passengers and vehicle\u003cbr/\u003e7. Close-up of Afghan police officer\u003cbr/\u003e8. Low shot of cars driving past with gun in shot\u003cbr/\u003e9. Wide of Afghan police at road block\u003cbr/\u003eAs (m) millions of Afghans prepared to cast their ballots in Afghanistan's national elections on Thursday, security was tight amid threats of Taliban violence.\u003cbr/\u003eArmed Afghan police officers set up road blocks in the capital city of Kabul and carried out extensive searches.\u003cbr/\u003eFears of violence and rumours of fraud have cast a shadow on the country's election, in which (m) millions will choose a new president to lead a nation plagued by armed insurgency, drugs, corruption and a feeble government.\u003cbr/\u003eInternational officials predict an imperfect outcome for a vote that they hope Afghans will accept as credible - a key component of President Barack Obama's war strategy.\u003cbr/\u003eOn the eve of the balloting, the US military announced the deaths of six more Americans - putting August on track to become the deadliest month for American forces since the war began in 2001. \u003cbr/\u003eFearing that violence may dampen turnout, the Foreign Ministry asked news organisations to avoid \"broadcasting any incidence of violence\" during voting hours \"to ensure the wide participation of the Afghan people.\" \u003cbr/\u003eAfghan journalists said they would not comply, but the government said offending foreign journalists could be expelled.\u003cbr/\u003eRising death tolls underscored the urgency of establishing a strong, effective government to stem the growing Taliban insurgency.\u003cbr/\u003ePresident Hamid Karzai, who has held power since the Taliban was ousted eight years ago, is favoured to finish first among 36 official candidates, although a late surge by former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah could force a runoff if no one wins more than 50 percent.\u003cbr/\u003ePreliminary results were expected to be announced on Saturday.\u003cbr/\u003eKarzai, a favourite of the Bush administration, won in 2004 with 55.4 percent of the vote, riding into office on a wave of public optimism after decades of war and ruinous Taliban rule. \u003cbr/\u003eAs the US shifted resources to the war in Iraq, Afghanistan fell into steep decline, marked by record opium poppy harvests, deepening government corruption and skyrocketing violence.\u003cbr/\u003eFaced with growing public discontent, Karzai has sought to ensure his re-election by striking alliances with regional power brokers, naming as a running-mate a Tajik strongman whom he once fired as defence minister and welcoming home notorious Uzbek warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum, allegedly involved in the deaths of up to 2-thousand Taliban prisoners early in the Afghan war.\u003cbr/\u003eThose figures are believed capable of delivering (m) millions of votes among their followers, but their presence in the Karzai inner circle has raised fears in Western capitals that the president would be unable to fulfil promises to fight corruption in a second term.\u003cbr/\u003eVoter turnout - especially in the insurgency-plagued Pashtun south - is likely to be crucial not only to Karzai's chances but also to public acceptance of the results. \u003cbr/\u003eKarzai is widely expected to run strong among his fellow Pashtuns, the country's largest ethnic group which also forms the overwhelming majority of the Taliban.\u003cbr/\u003eAbdullah, son of a Pashtun father and a Tajik mother, is expected to win much of his votes in the Tajik north, where security is better and turnout likely to be bigger. \u003cbr/\u003eAbdullah, an ophthalmologist who has railed against government corruption, was a member of the US-backed alliance that overthrew the Taliban in 2001 and would be expected to maintain close ties with the West.\u003cbr/\u003eOne fear is that Abdullah's followers may charge fraud and take to the streets if Karzai claims a first-round victory without a strong southern turnout.\u003cbr/\u003eThe country has been rife with rumours of ballot stuffing, bogus registrations and trafficking in registration cards on behalf of the incumbent, allegations his campaign has denied.\u003cbr/\u003eMindful of the dangers, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton urged Afghans this week to hold \"credible, secure and inclusive elections\" and called on candidates and their supporters \"to behave responsibly before and after the elections\" - a clear warning against street demonstrations by disappointed politicians.\u003cbr/\u003eIn the south, turnout may be affected by the Taliban campaign of intimidation - whispered threats, posted warnings and a run of headline-grabbing attacks in Kabul - aimed at frightening Afghans from going to the polls.\u003cbr/\u003eIn Afghanistan's two most important and dangerous southern provinces - where thousands of US troops deployed this summer - more than 130 polling stations will not open, officials said. \u003cbr/\u003eThese included 107 out of 242 polling stations in Helmand province, the focus of the most recent fighting, and 17 out of 271 in Kandahar, where the Taliban Islamist movement was born.\u003cbr/\u003eUnderscoring the threat, four election workers were killed on Tuesday delivering materials to a polling station in northeastern Badakhshan, a province generally considered safe. \u003cbr/\u003eTwo elections workers died in a separate incident the same day when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in Kandahar province, officials said Wednesday.\u003cbr/\u003eAnd on the eve of the voting, three gunmen described by police as Taliban militants took over a bank in Kabul. Police stormed the building and killed them.\u003cbr/\u003eAdding to problems in the south, election officials could not recruit enough women to help female voters, raising questions about turnout among women. \u003cbr/\u003eElection observers also fear that men in conservative Pashtun areas would try to cast multiple votes on behalf of women in their families - including some who may not exist.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='action-container flex justify-between'\u003e\n\u003cbutton aria-expanded='false' aria-label='Read more description' class='rp-full-description' type='button'\u003e\n\u003ci class='fai fa-solid fa-align-left'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003cspan id='read_more'\u003eRead More\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/button\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-report'\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv aria-labelledby='resource-details-heading' class='rp-info-section'\u003e\n\u003ch2 class='title' id='resource-details-heading'\u003eResource 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