Afghans elect women and ex-military leaders

FINAL results of Afghanistan’s legislative elections show several former commanders of military factions, three old Taliban officials, women activists and several ex-communists won seats in the new parliament.

The results of the September 18 vote for the 249-seat Wolesi Jirga and councils in all 34 provinces were finally released on Saturday, after being delayed by a slow count and accusations of vote fraud.

Chairman of the UN-Afghan Joint Electoral Management Body, Bissmillah Bissmil described the polls as a milestone in the country’s transition to democracy.

There are close to 30,000 US troops and NATO-led peacekeepers in the country, and a low-level guerrilla war with the Taliban and its Islamist allies has cost more than 1,100 lives this year.

The UN-organised elections were held on a non-party basis, with all 5,800 candidates running as independents, raising fears that a fragmented parliament will emerge, with members focused on parochial issues.

President Hamid Karzai has no political party and stayed out of the fray, although several supporters, including two relatives, won parliamentary seats.

Yunus Qanuni, leader of an alliance of parties opposed to the US-backed president, also won a seat. He came a distant second in the October 2004 presidential election.

The vote was mostly based on ethnic lines because of the dominance of the tribes in their respective regions. Turnout was 6.8 million of about 12 million registered voters.

Parliament is expected to sit for the first time next month. One of its key jobs will be to approve or veto the nomination of cabinet members.

Women obtained all 68 seats reserved for them in the Wolesi Jirga, but five provincial council seats in the conservative south and east were left vacant as too few candidates registered.