Baku, Azerbaijan, August 20 /Trend News/

Presidential elections started in Afghanistan. Some 17 million out of 29 million population of Afghanistan have the right to vote. After the beginning of the U.S. military operations in Afghanistan in 2001, this presidential election will be the second. During presidential election in 2004, Hamid Karzai won, gaining 55 percent of votes.

In the current presidential elections the main rivals of Karzai are former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah and former Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzi. Taking into account the intensified activities of Taliban in the southern regions of the country, high voter turnout is not expected in this part. Afghan government takes special security measures on the election day.

The Government asks the media not to disseminate information on the acts of violence on the election day in order not to pressurize the situation in the country and to prevent intimidation of the population. Representatives of 76 international organizations participate in the presidential election as observers.