KABUL, October 9 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Afghanistan's presidential elections was thrown Saturday, October 9, into turmoil as most of the candidates running against incumbent President Hamid Karzai rejected the vote and called for new polls over irregularities.

"The candidates at the last session agreed to reject the results of today's election and called for new elections," Ramatullah Jalil, a campaign official for one of the candidates was quoted as saying by Agence France Presse (AFP).

"Today's election is not a legitimate election," presidential candidate Abdul Satar Sirat said after hosting a meeting of 15 candidates, said the BBC News Online.

"It should be stopped and we don't recognize the results."

Too Late

Karzai said it is "too late to call for a boycott"

Karzai, however, rejected the boycott demands.

"It is too late to call for a boycott now that millions of Afghans have come from their homes despite rain and snow and they have voted," he told a news conference.

"We should respect the people's will."

The Joint Electoral Management Board (JEMB) also rejected the demand to call off the election.

"Hundreds are voting and at this point halting the voting is unjustified and would deny these individuals the right to vote,"  it said in a statement.

The JEMB also decided to extend the voting by two hours.

"The vote is extended until 6.00 pm around the country because lots of people have still not voted," a vice-chairman of the electoral commission told AFP.

Widespread Problem

Massooda Jalal, the only woman running for the presidential elections, said the elections are not free and fair.

"In the morning I was prepared to vote, but within the past three hours I've received calls from voters that this is not a free and fair election," she told the Associated Press.

"The ink that is being used can be rubbed off in a minute. Voters can vote 10 times!"

Witnesses told AFP the technical hitch in the system used to stop multiple voting has appeared outside Kabul where the problem first arose.

Early in some Kabul polling stations it was found that the ink used to mark the fingers of voters could be easily removed, although electoral officials later said the issue had been resolved.

But at a voting centre in the western city of Herat, official Ghulam Rasul said: "Some of the markers were dry and a lot of people came and said that ink was not staying."

"In front of me they cleaned the ink and it was completely clean," the official added.

"Nothing remains, we called the main officer in Herat he said he would send new markers but we have not received them. What should we do?"

An AFP journalist who tested in the ink, however, was unable to remove it.

In Afghanistan's north-east, an eyewitness who asked to remain anonymous said there had been a problem with the marker pens.

"Otherwise it has gone smoothly, there were no aggressive intimidations just encouragements," the witness said.

In the rural central regions of Kapisa and Parwan to the north of Kabul, another observer said the ink problem was a "disaster" and complained of a lack of organization and planning.

"But voters themselves were complaining about it," indicating that they were unlikely to commit fraud themselves, he added.

Farook Wardak, head of the Joint Electoral Management Board (JEMB), had earlier said the ink problem was rectified.

"The problem with the ink appears to be with the application of the ink and not the ink itself."

He said marker pens were being used in some cases instead of the indelible ink, while in other cases, the correct ink was being applied to the wrong part of the finger.

Milestone

Many see the presidential elections is a milestone in Afghanistan's road to recovery after a quarter-century of war.

"I came here to elect my president on my own. The election marks the end of warlords and wars in my country," said Afghan voter Hayam Udin, 50.

"This is the most important day in the history of Afghanistan. Today we have the golden chance to vote that we have been waiting for so long," said another Afghan, Haji Abdul Salaam.

"I was so happy I did not sleep," said Gholam Rezah, 55.

Afghanistan was still far away from realizing security, with continued attacks against senior officials and international forces.

Taliban fighters had been targeting members of the Afghan interim government and the US forces.

The last such incident was on Thursday, September 16, when an attack targeted a helicopter carrying Karzai in the Afghan town of Gardez with a rocket.