KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghanistan's grand council overwhelmingly elected interim leader Hamid Karzai as head of state yesterday in this battle-scarred country's first peaceful transfer of power in more than two decades.
The 44-year-old Pashtun tribal chief, who received 1,295 out of 1,575 votes, or 82 percent, is poised to assume the presidency of a transitional government whose composition and structure still must be decided by the council, or loya jirga. Full elections will be held within two years.
"Thank you for your trust, you make me honored," Karzai said after the result of the secret ballot was announced last night.
As enthusiastic supporters elbowed their way to the stage to hug and kiss him, he added: "I thank God, and I hope that I can serve my mujahid nation and my religion and my country."
Karzai, a careful yet charismatic politician, chose the word mujahid - or holy warrior - to honor those who have died for Afghanistan. In Kabul, the nation's capital, the evening silence was suddenly broken by the sound of radios turned up full blast as hundreds tuned in to his words.
The resounding victory signaled that Karzai, appointed six months ago under an agreement brokered by the United Nations after the defeat of the hard-line Taliban regime, has won considerable support across the fractious country.
He now faces the task of continuing to rebuild a nation shattered by war and unifying its feuding tribes and warlords. The vote should bolster his political legitimacy, which until now has barely extended beyond Kabul.
The United States, which sees Karzai as a key ally in its war on terrorism, welcomed the vote. State Department spokesman Philip Reeker called the sessions "an important step in the reconstruction of the country and the establishment of self-government."
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan also sent congratulations, and foreign ministers of the Group of Eight nations, meeting in British Columbia, pledged to step up political and financial support for the fledgling government.
Still ahead for Karzai and the loya jirga, which will sit until Sunday, is choosing members of the new Cabinet. The assembly must also decide the structure of the new government and select a parliament.
Yesterday's vote, after two days of raucous and at times unwieldy debate, underscored the democratic awakening of Afghan society.
As key opponents bowed out of the race and rival warlords pledged support, Karzai's victory had seemed all but guaranteed. Few expected any challenge to him at the loya jirga, traditionally used by Afghan monarchs to rubber-stamp their decisions.
Nonetheless, Karzai faced two opponents, both political unknowns who braved ridicule to put forward their candidacy. In a measure of how Afghanistan has changed, one was a woman, Masooda Jalal - a prospect unthinkable under the Taliban.
She garnered just 171 votes but won high praise.
"The fact that a woman in my country had the courage to nominate herself as a candidate for the first president of this country - this is a plus," said Abdullah Abdullah, who has served the interim government as foreign minister.
The other contender, Mir Mohammed Mahfoz Nadai, a little-known government official whose neighbors had pressed him to run, received 89 votes.
Karzai had the audience eating out of his hand. Speaking in both Afghan languages, Pashto and Dari, he promised his nation a new future.
"We need security, we need peace, we need stability, we need an administration in control of all of Afghanistan," Karzai said, his remarks frequently interrupted by applause.
His speech was a call for reconciliation, attempting to include all the country's many ethnic, religious and political groups.
In a nod to those who had favored the ousted Taliban, Karzai noted that the fundamentalist movement had been "hijacked by foreign people" who were "against Afghanistan."
The painstaking counting of ballots was carried out by hand, as U.N. and other Western observers looked on.