KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Latest on Afghanistan's national elections (all times local):
5:05 p.m.
Polls have closed in Afghanistan's presidential election amid widespread complaints of irregularities and pockets of violence from Taliban insurgents, mostly in the south and north of the country.
Voters complained that voters' lists were incomplete or missing and biometric identification machines intended to reduce fraud were not working properly or people were not adequately trained on how to use them.
A deeply flawed election could drive the country into chaos. Preliminary results are not expected before Oct. 17 and final results not until Nov. 7. If no candidate gets 51 percent of the vote, a second round will be held between the two leading candidates
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3:40 p.m.
Afghanistan's chief election official says polls will stay open for an extra hour until 5:30 p.m. local time.
Hawa Alim Nuristani, head of the Independent Election Commission, said Saturday that officials wanted people still waiting in line a chance "to cast their votes."
She said that the commission estimates roughly 4,500 polling centers are open across the country, despite concerns over security and disorganized balloting.
Threats of violence from Taliban insurgents have rattled Afghanistan as it holds presidential elections, weeks after the U.S.-led peace process collapsed.
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12:30 p.m.
A provincial official in Afghanistan's north says insurgents firing mortars on the city of Kunduz are attempting to stop voting in national elections.
Ghulam Rabani Rabani, a council member for Kunduz province, says Saturday that Taliban also are attacking Afghan security forces in two locations outside the city, in running gun battles.
He confirms civilian casualties, but couldn't immediately provide a number as the telecommunication networks are disrupted or even at times completely downed.
Rabbani said the attacks are to "frighten people and force them to stay in their home and not participate in the election."
He added that voter turnout in Kunduz would likely be low with the threat of further violence so high.
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11:25 a.m.
Pakistan has reversed its order to close its western border with Afghanistan after getting a request from the Afghan ministry of defense to re-open it to allow Afghans to return home to vote in Saturday's presidential polls.
Pakistan's foreign ministry said in a statement that the border would be re-opened despite security concerns, so that Afghans can "exercise their right to vote during the presidential election."