Uruzgan is preparing itself for the presidential election on Thursday 20 August. But local people are worried that voting will be marred by violence and intimidation.

Wilfried Olde Nordkamp of the European Union Police Mission in Afghanistan is on a visit to teach Afghans how to staff and provide security for polling stations. For example, he is training security guards how to identify fake registration cards.

But not everyone would like to be found with any kind of registration card. It could amount to a death sentence. “The Taliban have threatened to cut voter’s ears off,” says one Afghan school student.

At the school, a spontaneous mini-election is held in the classroom: who has the best chance of winning the presidency? The majority of the youngest generation of voters is planning to vote for the present head of state, Hamid Karzai. Even if there are some members of the class who think he has not done enough for the country.