Karzai supporters prevail in Afghanistan elections

KABUL, Afghanistan – 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.

“The government has the support of more than 50 percent in the parliament,” said Ali Amiri, a respected political analyst and local author on Afghan affairs. “There are some small opposition groups, but nothing big enough to challenge Karzai.”

A Western diplomat in Kabul, speaking on condition of anonymity because she is not authorized to talk to the media, also confirmed that Karzai’s supporters hold a slim majority, saying his rivals were splintered along factional lines and not a serious threat.

The parliamentary polls were seen as the final formal step toward Afghanistan’s having a representative government after a quarter-century of war that left more than 1 million people dead. The $159 million elections were funded mainly by the United States and other Western countries.

However, doubts remain about the vote’s legitimacy. Results were initially scheduled to be released last month but were delayed repeatedly by inquiries into widespread fraud. Some leading candidates demanded a vote recount, but election organizers ruled that out.