An Afghan 'hanging chad' dispute

"There is going to be an independent commission made to investigate it," electoral director Farooq Wardak told the Associated Press. "There could be mistakes; we are just human beings. My colleagues might have made a mistake."

As ballot boxes began to stream into eight regional vote-counting centers - some of them traveling by armed convoys, others by donkey - Afghan officials and international leaders praised voters for their courage.

Afghan interim President Hamid Karzai told the BBC he found it "tremendously inspiring to see millions of Afghans come out of their homes and villages and mountainous areas and travel for hours in snow and rain and dust storms to line up and vote."

Ambassador Khalilzad, himself an Afghan-American, said in a statement, "The Afghan Nation has spoken - it has voted for democracy and freedom. This is a triumph for Afghanistan."

Perhaps the greatest surprise is what didn't occur on election day: massive Taliban attacks. Afghan military checkpoints leading into most Afghan cities limited traffic, making it difficult for the estimated 3,000 Taliban insurgents to launch any major attacks on polling day. Tipoffs to the Ministry of Interior prevented one major attack on Friday, as a fuel-laden truck with explosives packed into the tires was halted on the road to Kandahar. Three men, identified as Pakistanis, were taken into custody.

Lt. Gen. David Barno told the AP that the Taliban "basically didn't show. They had very limited attacks."

In Kabul itself, voters voiced relief that the election was peaceful. Far from being disappointed by the ink dispute, Afghans say they would vote again enthusiastically in April.

"This dispute didn't affect my feelings about democracy," says Fakhria Faqiri, shopping at a plumbing supply shop. "These things happen. We already voted for our favorite candidate and if other people have problems, that is their point of view."

Mrs. Faqiri says it took her a great deal of effort to get the ink off her thumbnail and cuticle, adding, "they used the real stuff on me." Her husband, Haji Maruf Shah, points to his thumb. "Mine is still there."

But the plumbing-store clerk, Hussain Hashmi, says the ink dispute was deliberate and that certain candidates benefited from it.

"I don't think it was an accident, it was intentional," he says, sitting in his office above his showroom. And he won't decide whether he trusts in the results of the election until after the UN completes its investigation.

"First I want to know who did this, and then we'll tell you whether it has an impact on our belief of democracy," says Mr. Hashmi, who says his own thumb was clean by 11 a.m., after doing some painting and then washing his hands. He didn't vote twice, he quickly adds.

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