Preparing for Progress: 14 Photos From Afghanistan Before Historic Election

[rss]

Preparing for Progress: 14 Photos From Afghanistan Before Historic Election
http://rack.2.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDE0LzA0LzAzL2NjL0FmZ2hhbl9FbGVjLjVhYzU5LmpwZw pwCXRodW1iCTU3NXgzMjMjCmUJanBn/8cd11833/d7d/Afghan_Elections_Thumbnail-11.jpghttp://rack.3.mshcdn.com/assets/feed-tw-df3e816c4e85a109d6e247013aed8d66.jpg (http://twitter.com/share?via=Mashable&text=Preparing+for+Progress%3A+14+Photos+From+Afgh anistan+Before+Historic+Election&src=http%3A%2F%2Fmashable.com%2F2014%2F04%2F03%2Fa fghanistan-election%2F%3Futm_campaign%3DMash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial%26utm_cid%3DMash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_source%3Drss)htt p://rack.1.mshcdn.com/assets/feed-fb-fdab25e3700868c9621fb03b7fd07c38.jpg (http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fmashable.com%2F2014%2F04 %2F03%2Fafghanistan-election%2F%3Futm_campaign%3DMash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial%26utm_cid%3DMash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_source%3Drss&src=sp)
As April 5 approaches, Afghans prepare for the third presidential election (http://mashable.com/2014/03/19/afghanistan-votes-president/?utm_campaign=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_cid=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_medium=feed&utm_source=rss) in the nation since the fall of the Taliban in 2001 as Hamid Karzai, who has been president since 2004, steps down. Of some 31 million people living in Afghanistan, only 12 million are eligible voters, according to the AP (http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/ap-interview-afghan-candidate-respect-vote-23083325), as about 42% (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-26747712) of the country's population falls below the legal voting age of 18

Among the 11 candidates running (http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/02/world/asia/afghan-elections-candidate-profiles/) for president, three are considered favorites: the frontrunner, Abdullah Abdullah, who lost to Karzai in 2009, Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, a former World Bank official who also lost to Karzai in 2009, and Zalmai Rassoul, who reportedly has strong ties with Karzai and is the only candidate with a female running mate. Read more... (http://mashable.com/2014/04/03/afghanistan-election/?utm_campaign=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_cid=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_medium=feed&utm_source=rss)

More about Voting (http://mashable.com/category/voting/?utm_campaign=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_cid=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_medium=feed&utm_source=rss), Suicides (http://mashable.com/category/suicides/?utm_campaign=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_cid=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_medium=feed&utm_source=rss), Election (http://mashable.com/category/election/?utm_campaign=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_cid=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_medium=feed&utm_source=rss), Presidential Race (http://mashable.com/category/presidential-race/?utm_campaign=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_cid=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_medium=feed&utm_source=rss), and President (http://mashable.com/category/president/?utm_campaign=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_cid=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_medium=feed&utm_source=rss)http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Mashable/~4/nTTkqqeiGkM