Risks of violence and fraud haunt landmark Afghan election

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By Maria Golovnina and John Chalmers KABUL (Reuters) - Even if the Taliban fail to hobble the Afghan presidential election on Saturday, it could take months for a winner to be declared at a time when the country desperately needs a leader to stem rising violence as foreign troops prepare to leave. Most people expect the election will be better run than the chaotic 2009 vote that handed President Hamid Karzai a second term amid massive fraud and ballot stuffing. And, despite a crescendo of attacks by the Islamist militant Taliban group in recent weeks, millions of Afghans are eager for a say in their country's future. Any delay would leave little time to complete a pact between Kabul and Washington to keep up to 10,000 U.S. troops in the country beyond 2014, after the bulk of the American force, which currently stands at around 23,500, has pulled out.




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