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Democracy in Action
Afghanistan went to the polls on Sunday to elect a new legislature, with voters hoping to entrench a fragile democracy after a quarter-century of war, and sideline the Taliban militants who fought to undermine the vote.
"Today is a magnificent day for Afghanistan," said Ali Safar, 62, standing in line to vote in the capital, Kabul. "We want dignity, we want stability and peace. Thirty years of war and poverty is enough."
Meanwhile, Germany's two biggest parties, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's center-left Social Democrats and conservative challenger Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats, will meet for coalition talks, a Social Democratic party official said on Tuesday.
The two parties between them would have enough votes to form a clear majority government, but would have to overcome differences on policy and principles. A Social Democratic official who declined to be identified, because of the sensitivity of the issue, confirmed the meeting would take place after both parties met with their traditional allies first.
On Thursday, Merkel and Schroeder failed to resolve their battle over who should lead Germany's new government, but agreed to meet again to explore forming a right-left coalition to steer efforts to revive Europe's largest economy.
Afghan election workers from the UN-backed Joint Electoral Management Body count ballots at a JEMB camp in Kandahar on September 19.
Photograph: BANARAS KHAN/AFP/Getty Images
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