UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon today congratulated Afghan men and women for voting in presidential and provincial council elections despite threats against their lives, according to dpa. More than 50 people were killed during Thursday's voting in the Afghanistan presidential election, the government said after lifting the day-long reporting restriction on attacks during the voting. The elections took place in the wake of bomb attacks leading up to the vote that resulted in the deaths of eight civilians, two UN local staffers and a NATO soldier on Tuesday in Kabul. "By exercising their constitutional right to vote, the Afghan people have demonstrated again their desire for stability and development in their country," Ban said in a statement. Ban commended the work of the Afghan electoral commission and institutions charged with organizing the elections, which will be responsible for the lengthy process of counting ballots and certifying the results.
