--- description: An estimated 7 million people turned out to participate in Afghanistan's presidential election, despite bad weather and threats of violence title: Photos: Presidential Elections in Afghanistan image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta252f48b0ffa2c77/6986890e06f2c1239832e3b6/h_51313832.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Afghanistan](/tag/afghanistan/) ## Afghanistan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Afghanistan Goes To The Polls (5 Apr 2014) by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 5, 2014 3:07 PM CUT  An Afghan voter dries her finger marked with indelible ink after casting her ballot at a polling station in Herat. An Afghan voter dries her finger marked with indelible ink after casting her ballot at a polling station in Herat.Jalil Rezayee—EPA by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 5, 2014 3:07 PM CUT  Afghan villagers adjust election materials on the back of donkeys as they head back to their village along a country road high in the mountains in the Shutul District in northern Afghanistan, April 4, 2014. Hashmatullah—AFP/Getty Images  Afghan women wait to cast their ballots at a polling station in Mazar-i-sharif April 5, 2014. Zohra Bensemra—Reuters  Afghan residents wishing to vote line up outside a local polling station in Kabul. Wakil Kohsar—AFP/Getty Images  An Afghan woman looks through a window as another is about to cast her ballot. Zohra Bensemra—Reuters  An Afghan man walks from a voting booth after completing his ballot paper at a polling station in Kabul. Tim Wimbornet—Reuters  An Afghan voter dries her finger marked with indelible ink after casting her ballot at a polling station in Herat. Jalil Rezayee—EPA  Afghan women arrive to vote at a polling station in Adraskan district, Herat province. Omar Sobhani—Reuters ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/50648/afghanistan-presidential-election/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/50648/afghanistan-presidential-election/"},"headline":"Afghanistan Goes To The Polls (5 Apr 2014)","datePublished":"2014-04-05T15:07:23.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:51:54.586Z","description":"An estimated 7 million people turned out to participate in Afghanistan's presidential election, despite bad weather and threats of violence from Taliban militants","url":"https://time.com/50648/afghanistan-presidential-election/","keywords":["Afghanistan","Kabul","presidential election"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta252f48b0ffa2c77/6986890e06f2c1239832e3b6/h_51313832.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta252f48b0ffa2c77/6986890e06f2c1239832e3b6/h_51313832.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Presidential elections in Afghanistan","caption":"Presidential elections in Afghanistan","creditText":"Jalil Rezayee—EPA","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/afghanistan/","name":"Afghanistan"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/50648/afghanistan-presidential-election/","name":"Afghanistan Goes To The Polls (5 Apr 2014)"}}]}] ```