Our colleague Jonathan Landay is in Afghanistan to cover the August 20 elections. Today, he went to President Hamid Karzai's first big campaign rally in the capital:             

             Afghan President Hamid Karzai may well have problems winning a first-round re-election victory if the turnout for his first major campaign rally in the nation's capital is any indication.

            Less than 5,000 people appeared to have showed up - several said they came under instructions from tribal superiors - at the National Stadium today to hear Karzai promise better schools, public services and security in return for their votes on Aug. 20.

            That's not a big crowd for a city of an estimated 5 million people. Of course, the number may have been kept down by fears of an attack by the Taliban, who staged public executions and limb amputations in center field before they were ousted in 2001 and tried to assassinate Karzai at a reviewing stand only yards from the stadium last year.

            Then there was the summer heat and the fact that it was Friday, the Muslim holy day.

             But many experts believe that the strongest of his 40 opponents, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, has been gaining ground and could garner enough support in the next two weeks to force a run-off that Karzai, considered a shoe-in for re-election in the first round not too long ago, could lose.

            Karzai, however, told his enthusiastic, flag-waving audience that he has no doubt about the outcome, and he urged them to ignore the Taliban's vow to disrupt the voting, which is being protected by tens of thousands of U.S.-led international troops and Afghan security forces amidst a surge in violence.

            "Relax, God willing, everything will go safely," Karzai asserted from the heavily guarded grandstand atop which snipers kept watch for signs of trouble. "After the election, we will have celebrations and we will distribute sweets!"