Afghanistan’s first popularly elected parliament in more than three decades convened today, marking a major step toward democracy following the fall of the hard-line Taliban.

Supporters of Afghanistan’s president appeared to have won a majority of seats in landmark legislative elections, according to observers after the results were released today.

Election authorities today said they have dismissed about 50 employees for suspected fraud in last month’s legislative polls, while human rights advocates warned that about half of the winning candidates are suspected to have links to armed groups.