Final results of Afghanistan's legislative elections show several former commanders of military factions, three old Taliban officials, women activists and several officials from the former Soviet-backed government won seats in the new parliament.

The results of the September 18 vote for the 249-seat lower house, or 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.

The UN-organized 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 as they compete for resources.

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. The former interior and education minister in Karzai's government came a distant second to Karzai 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.

Faction leaders win seats

Among others who won seats were former President Burhanuddin Rabbani, a conservative ethnic-Tajik cleric from the north who is seen as a Karzai supporter and, according to associates, wants to become chairman of the parliament.

Several old armed faction commanders, labeled warlords and accused of war crimes by rights groups, also won seats.

Three prominent former Taliban also won seats in parliament - ex-commander Haji Mullah Abdul Salaam Rocketi, ex-provincial governor Mawlavi Islamuddin Mohammadi and a senior former security official, Hanif Shah Al-Hussein.

Sayed Mohammad Gulabzoi, interior minister in a Soviet-backed government during the 1980s, was among several officials from the former government to win seats.

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.

(China Daily November 14, 2005)