Afghanistan's presidential election held this month — the third such election since the fall of the Taliban regime in November 2001 — showed that despite allegations of voting fraud, democracy has started to take root in a country that has suffered from incessant war since 1979. More than 7 million of an estimated 12 million eligible voters cast their votes on April 5 for a 55 to 60 percent turnout, braving Taliban attacks against polling stations. That's much better than the 30 to 35 percent voter turnout for the 2009 presidential election.
According to preliminary results released Saturday, none of the candidates was able to secure the minimum 50 percent of valid votes needed for a victory. A runoff will likely be held in early June between the top two contenders — former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah and former Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai.
Whoever wins, the country is at a crossroads. Whether Afghanistan can become a nation capable of standing on its own will depend on whether the new president can exercise strong leadership to achieve reconciliation among the country's ethnic and political groups, and to accomplish political stabilization following the planned withdrawal of most U.S. troops.