The election campaigns in Afghanistan have ended with mass rallies by a number of presidential candidates.
In a stadium in the capital Kabul, 10,000 supporters gathered to hear former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah. Together with the former finance minister Asharf Ghani, he forms the biggest threat to President Hamid Karzai's lead in the polls.
Nevertheless, the president is coming into more and more international criticism for alleged alliances with warlords to secure his re-election. The United States has expressed its concern about the return of Abdul Rashid Dostum to Afghanistan. The feared warlord is believed to have made a pact with President Karzai.
On Thursday, 17 million Afghans will elect a president from around 30 candidates. The Taliaban have threatened bomb attacks.
Photos: EPA ANP
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