|
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Supporters of Afghan President Hamid Karzai appeared to have won a majority of seats in the country's landmark parliamentary elections, observers said Saturday, as final results were announced amid continued violence.
The polls were hailed as a success in the country's slow march toward democracy, although their legitimacy has been undermined by suspected ballot-box stuffing that led to the dismissal of 50 election workers, as well as alarm that more than half of the winners are former regional strongmen.
Nearly all winning candidates in the September elections ran as independents, making it difficult to determine where power will lie in the 249-seat legislature. But Western diplomats and other political analysts said it appeared that supporters of the U.S.-backed Karzai dominate.
|