WASHINGTON (PAN): Acknowledging that it is not going to be a perfect presidential election, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Tuesday said it was the right of the people to pick their leaders.

"With respect to Afghanistan, we have made a number of statements over the last several days supporting the electoral process, speaking out against the uptick in violence,” Clinton said.

At a joint press availability with the visiting Columbian foreign minister, the secretary said that the violence could be viewed as an effort by the Taliban to intimidate people from actually voting.

"There are problems with this election, as there are with any election, but we still believe that it is the right of the people of Afghanistan to pick their own leaders," Clinton added.

"And we are encouraging them to come out and vote. And we've worked very hard over the last months to provide the security with the help of a lot of our ISAF partners and others who are present in Afghanistan. We are going to hope that the election goes well," she said.

Meanwhile, Afghan Ambassador to US Said T Jawad said the presidential election would demonstrate the maturity of the democratic and constitutional system that had developed in Afghanistan since 2001.

"It will also serve as evidence of the significant return on the investment made by Afghans and our international partners to build a civic and democratic society in our country," the diplomat said.

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