Karzai: Vote without fear
From Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour
 |  Karzai is up against 17 other candidates. |
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 An Afghan woman runs for president.
 Afghanistan faces challenges.
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KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Afghan President Hamid Karzai has told his supporters to vote without fear at a rally in a Kabul stadium the Taliban once used for beheadings.
"If someone comes to you with money and pressure and says I have come from Karzai, don't vote for me," he says.
Afghans are not used to hearing that, but frontrunner Karzai has led the country through its post Taliban transition and now he is asking the people to give him a mandate.
Karzai promises a vote for him will be a vote for continued peace, prosperity, and stability in Afghanistan
"Karzai is a national hero because he brought national unity in Afghanistan so therefore we are supporting him," one man says.
"Since three years he has done very well in Afghanistan."
But the process for this historic election has been lackluster, and on the last day of campaigning Karzai appeared at only his second rally.
Last month, his helicopter was fired on as he made his way to a rally, and violence and insecurity have been a constant menace throughout this election campaign.
Even as Karzai appeared at the Kabul stadium, in northern Afghanistan a mine exploded while his running mate held his own rally. He was unhurt. (Full story)
And it's not just the violence, it's the unknown.
One of Karzai's distant challengers walks about as if he's not quite sure what he should be doing.
His running mate, a woman, kneels down and asks a child: "Do you know me? I am one of the candidates."
There are 18 candidates for the presidency, to be elected by direct vote. They must get a majority to win outright and avoid a runoff.
But that's all double Dutch to most people.
Out in the countryside, Hamidullah and his friend Hamed harvest their grapes for market.
Both cheerfully admit they're illiterate, like 80 percent of the population, and they're confused about who to vote for and how to do it.
"God knows who he wants as president," says Hamidullah.
"I will go to the voting booth and if I try to vote for someone that God doesn't want, he'll move my hand to the right box."
This attitude adds some urgency to the U.N.'s basic democracy lessons.
"What a voter registration card is, what a ballot paper is, how to mark a ballot paper, what it means, how to identity the candidate whom you wish to support," says U.N. election worker, Julian Type.
But civic education has been hampered by violence, with 12 elections workers killed and dozens more injured.
Human Rights Watch says many voters complain of intimidation by warlords and the power of the gun.
In Kabul many say they will vote to end all that. Perhaps that's why more than 10 million people have registered to vote.
Even if they're not sure how to cast a ballot, they're excited about it.
Copyright 2004 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
