Скачать или смотреть Afghans defy Taliban threat to vote in droves

YOUR DESCRIPTION HAS REACHED THE LIMIT OF CHARACTERS ALLOWED AND WAS CUT. KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Millions of Afghans defied Taliban threats and rain Saturday, underscoring their enormous expectations from an election that comes as the country's wobbly government prepares to face down a ferocious insurgency largely on its own.

With combat forces from the U.S.-led coalition winding down a 13-year presence and the mercurial Hamid Karzai stepping aside, the country's new leader will find an altered landscape as he replaces the only president Afghans have known since the Taliban were ousted in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks.

But for some progress, particularly with women's rights, the country's situation is inauspicious, especially with its poor security and battered economy. Yet despite spiraling carnage and grave disappointments, Afghans by the millions crowded mosque courtyards and lined up at schools to vote, telling a war-weary world they want their voices heard.

Nazia Azizi, a 40-year-old housewife, was first in line at a school in eastern Kabul. "I have suffered so much from the fighting and I want prosperity and security in Afghanistan. That is why I have come here to cast my vote," she said. "I hope that the votes that we are casting will be counted and that there will be no fraud in this election."

Partial results could come as early as Sunday, but final results were not expected for a week or more.

International combat troops are supposed to depart by the end of the year, leaving Afghan security forces -- not completely battle-tested and plagued with insurgents even among their ranks -- to fight alone against what is likely to be an intensified campaign by the Taliban to regain power.

A security agreement with the United States would allow thousands of foreign troops to remain in the country to continue training security forces after 2014. Karzai -- perhaps trying to shake off his image as a creation of the Americans -- has refused to sign it, but all eight presidential candidates say they will.

In congratulating Afghanistan on the election, U.S. President Barack Obama said it represented "another important milestone in Afghans taking full responsibility for their country as the United States and our partners draw down our forces."

"These elections are critical to securing Afghanistan's democratic future, as well as continued international support, and we look to the Afghan electoral bodies to carry out their duties in the coming weeks," Obama said in a statement.

In general, there do not appear to be major policy differences toward the West among the front-runners: Abdullah Abdullah, Karzai's top rival in the last election