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Despite a spike in violence leading up to Afghanistan’s presidential election, Afghan voters came out to cast their ballots today. Anchor Lisa Mullins speaks with the BBC’s Carolyn Wyatt, who’s in Helmand Province about today’s vote.

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LISA MULLINS: I’m Lisa Mullins and this is The World. The polls are closed now in Afghanistan and the counting is underway. Initial results from Afghanistan’s presidential election are not expected for several days. But NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said from a security perspective the day went reasonably well.

ANDERS FOGH RASMUSSEN: Today the world has been watching Afghanistan. We have witnessed the first Afghan-led elections in 30 years, a testimony to the determination of the Afghan people to build democracy. I want to congratulate the people of Afghanistan for the courage they have shown in spite of challenging circumstances.

MULLINS: The Taliban had vowed to disrupt the vote and there were reports of violence around the country. But a United Nations spokesman said most polling stations were able to function. This voter, in the capital Kabul, said she hopes the election will bring peace and security to Afghanistan.

VOTER 1: [SPEAKING DARI]

TRNASLATOR: We want the next president to stop the killing of innocent people and to find jobs for the people and bring peace. My felling is I’ll vote for a good man who brings justice.

MULLINS: Another voter in Kandahar called on his fellow Afghans to come out and have their say.

VOTER 2: [SPEAKING DARI]

TRANSLATOR: This is the duty of all Afghans. They can vote for their president and choose their president today and they can perform their duty perfectly.

MULLINS: The incumbent president, Hamid Karzai, who’s up for reelection, was among those voting today in Kabul. Karzai said today that the Afghan people braved rockets, bombs, and intimidation to come out to vote. The BBC’s Caroline Wyatt is in Helmand province in the volatile south. What’s it been like for voters there?

CAROLINE WYATT: Well they did indeed brave those bombs and those bullets this morning. We went out as polling stations opened. That was 7 o’clock in the morning local time. And by 8 o’clock that morning we’d had something like seven rocket attacks in and around the town of Lashgar Gah, the provincial capital and another two in the following half hour. And even as the governor of Helmand province, Gulab Mangal, went to vote a rocket exploded outside his compound. This was all the Taliban sending a message to the people of Lashgar Gah and wider Helmand not to go to the polls. But then we waited about 45 minutes until the streets were a little quieter and went to two polling stations. And the first one we went to was full of men very enthusiastic about voting saying they were not scared of the bombs and they wanted to tell the insurgents as much. And then to a women’s polling station where women again were showing an awful lot of personal courage because the Taliban had said here, in the weeks leading up to the vote, anyone found with indelible ink on their fingers to show that they voted – this is to stop people voting twice – that they would have that finger cut off. And one woman we met from a small village which does have an insurgent presence had allowed her finger to be inked and held it up for us to see.

MULLINS: I mean that’s pretty amazing giving all the threats that have been going on. Do these people worry about what’s going to happen now after the vote and is there much security present to see that they are not harmed?

WYATT: There was an awful lot of security present certainly on the day of voting itself. I think the fear for some people is that they will go back, especially to smaller villages – so outside Lashgar Gah – in places where insurgents either have the upper hand or perhaps their own neighbors. What might happen then? For example this indelible ink will last for a week. If you have neighbors who are insurgents they’ll obviously see that unless you stay at home or you go away for a while. So I think yes there are fears. But on the day itself the Afghan National Army and police their performance was praised by many. They have had a lot of months training by both American troops, British troops, and other troops from the coalition across Afghanistan. They did a good job here today.

MULLINS Caroline this morning US Marines escorted a rush delivery of ballots to Helmand province, to a particular town, after election officials said that there were ballots that were missing from the original shipment. From what you have seen you know about all the reports of fraud even prior to the election. Is there any evidence of fraud that has taken place today?

WYATT: I’m sure that across the country yes there will be. What we tended to see where we were were people who were perhaps, they certainly looked underage going to the polling centers. In Helmand as well one election agent had come in and was apparently offering money for them to vote for his candidate. In another place there was an agent campaigning on behalf of the candidate which is also not allowed. But there were places where for example polling stations didn’t open for late, not enough ballot papers were delivered. We heard that the US forces had helped to deliver some extra ones and there has been an n awful lot of preparation helped by the coalition in the run up. We’ve seen a lot of American helicopters, some British helicopters, taking election observers even things like tables and chairs to the most remote polling stations. A lot of ballot papers even taken by donkey. I think they employed 3000 donkeys in Afghanistan to get the ballot papers to the right places. So it’s not surprising if it’s is rough and ready but as to outright fraud in large numbers, we don’t have that information yet.

MULLINS: Alright the BBC’s Caroline Wyatt in Helmand province in the south of Afghanistan. Thank you very much.

WYATT: Thank you.

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