Ahmad Munir
The provincial and presidential elections in Afghanistan is the third in the post Taliban Afghanistan, but the mass rallies and campaigns for support of each of the presidential contenders, in the face of the fear mongering militants, has been surprisingly unprecedented.
The event has been globally applauded for successful conduct, high voters' turnout and overall calm during the event, however, the wide coverage of the event through media outlets and other social media pages has been overlooked.
In the previous elections,  according to western news outlets donkeys led Afghan elections, which sarcastically implied that ballot boxes were carried by the donkeys in the far-flung areas and provinces across the country.
Widespread live coverage of the event  from capital and distant provinces through live TV channels and exclusive social media websites of the Saturday's historic power transition, though a huge development, went publicly unnoticed.
The campaigns were extraordinary with banners and billboards on the sides of the streets across Afghanistan covered with copious posters of the provincial and presidential election candidates more than expected due to general  negative perception in some foreign media.
The campaigns got momentum days before elections and posters increased on private and public signboards and traffic instruction boards and other important spots despite repeated warning by the Independent Election Commission (IEC).
The campaigners did not suffices with the posters alone, many of them went viral in the social media pages. They extensively wrote and published minute by minute development of the election in the social media networks and pages particularly those with membership in the facebook and twitter.
These youths went to publish every development in the process around the clock.  In addition to live TV coverage of the campaigns, many exclusive pages including Afghanvotes.af by Pajhwok Afghan News and several other social media pages of the candidates were actively updating the developments in campaigns of the candidates.
 While the real competition went on in practice at the sites, those with greater presence in social media virtually outflanked the rest of the candidates' campaigners each one trying to boost about their own candidate.
All of these developments in practice on Saturday and during election and campaigns plus extensive coverage of the elections through live TV channels and social media refreshes my memory of the donkeys in western headlines about 2009 elections, but with a huge distinction. The recent elections, though third in Afghanistan history, has been as good as any other in the region and world at large.