Election News Snapshot - Afghanistan

Despite threats from an increasingly insurgent Taliban, voters turned out for today's Presidential election in Afghanistan, albeit at lower levels than the first go-round in 2004. Early predictors indicate another victory for current President Hamid Karzai, though he probably will not pull enough of the vote to avoid a runoff. His likely opponent in a second round would be Abdullah Abdullah, the candidate representing the United National Front - a hodgepodge of parties mainly representing the multi-ethnic Northern tribes. Karzai is an independent, although his main support comes from the majority Pashtun South. The disparate backgrounds of the two leading candidates lent an ethnic tinge to the campaign that would have dominated headlines had it not been for the brutal Taliban offensive.