Afghan men stand in line as they prepare to cast their vote in a polling station in the southern Afghani city of Kandahar Saturday Oct. 9, 2004. As people lined up to vote across this long-suffering country, where 100,000 security forces including U.S. troops were deployed to thwart attacks from Taliban insurgents, ordinary Afghans expressed optimism that they were casting ballots for a new era _ despite a controversy over allegations of electoral fraud.. (AP Photo/Elizabeth Dalziel)
Afghan refugees living in Pakistan stand in a line to vote in Afghanistan's presidential elections in the western border city of Chaman October 9, 2004. A woman of 19 who fled Afghanistan's long civil war made history on Saturday by casting the first vote in her country's first direct presidential election, before rivals of the incumbent threw the poll in to confusion by declaring a boycott. REUTERS/Saeed Ali Achakzai
A combination image shows three different methods of inking Afghan voters fingers to show they have voted during the presidential election in Kabul October 9, 2004. The image at left shows an Afghan woman receiving her identification card back after dipping her finger in ink. The image at center shows an election official coloring the thumb of an Afghan woman with a marker after dipping it in the tub of ink. The image at right shows an election official coloring the thumb of an Afghan woman with a marker. Afghanistan's first-ever presidential election was thrown into confusion on Saturday after all of President Hamid Karzai's rivals said they were boycotting the poll because of irregularities. REUTERS/Caren Firouz
Afghan presidential candidate Massouda Jalal speaks with journalists at her campaign headquarters in Kabul October 9, 2004. Afghanistan (news - web sites)'s first-ever presidential election was thrown into confusion on Saturday after all of President Hamid Karzai's rivals said they were boycotting the poll because of irregularities. REUTERS/Caren Firouz
All of President Hamid Karzai's rivals in Afghanistan's historic elections on October 9, 2004 have decided to boycott the poll because of irregularities. Fifteen of 18 candidates on the ballot agreed to join the boycott, contender Abdul Satar Serat said. That left only President Hamid Karzai in the running as the final two on the ballot withdrew in his favour earlier this week. Combination file photo shows Afghanistan's 18 presidential shows from (top row L-R) Abdul Latif Pidram, Hamid Karzai, Homayoon Shah Asifi, Mir Mohammad Mahfoz Nidaie, Mohammad Mohaqiq, Sayed Ishaq Gilani (middle row L-R) Abdul Satar Serat, Abdul Hafiz Mansoor, Ghulam Farooq Nijrabi, Ahmad Shah Ahmadzai, Abdul Hasib Aryan, Wakil Mangul (bottom row L-R) Abdul Hadi Khalilzai, Mohammad Ibrahim Rashid, Mohammad Younus Qanoni, Masooda Jalal, Sayed Abdul Hadi Dabir and Abdul Rashid Dostum. REUTERS/Ahmad Masood/Files
Ghousuddin, Afghan refugee from Lagman province of Afghanistan (news - web sites) holds his registration card after casting his vote in the Afghanistan's presidential election at Kacha Garhi refugee camp in Peshawar, Pakistan on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2004. (AP Photo/B. K. Bangash)