Afghans wanting to vote queue in the rain outside a polling station before it opened in KabulReuters
Historic elections are under way in Afghanistan that could lead to the first democratic power transfer in the strife-torn country.
Scores of Afghans are braving the Taliban threat and lining up since early morning to cast their vote.
Afghan officials are using mules and other modes of transport to ferry polling materials to remote areas of the country.
Incumbent President Hamid Karzai is barred from contesting the elections as he has already completed two terms, but he is widely expected to wield influence through proxies.
In all, eight candidates are contesting for the presidential post and former ministers Abdullah Abdullah, Zalmay Rassoul and Ashraf Ghani are considered frontrunners.
At least 12 million Afghans are eligible to vote in the landmark elections. The results are expected to take months to be out because of the complex nature of the election process which involves a run-off on 28 May if no candidate secures more than 50% of the vote, according to Reuters.
More than 7,000 polling stations have been set up of which nearly 400 have been identified as vulnerable to militant attacks, officials said.
A heavy security blanket has been thrown over most parts of the country and nearly 400,000 security forces have been deployed.
In the run-up to the voting, the Taliban, which is determined to uproot the democratically-elected government, has carried out several attacks in a bid to disrupt the elections.
On the eve of polling day a German photojournalist was gunned down while a Canadian reporter was wounded. Both were working for the Associated Press news agency.
The new leader will face a huge challenge in maintaining the security and stability in the landlocked south Asian nation in the wake of the Nato forces' withdrawal by the end of 2014.
Karzai's successor will also have to deal with the increasingly tense relations with the western world.
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