Afghanistan announces preliminary poll results
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Fazal Ahmad Manawi the chief of Afghanistan Independent Election Commission (IEC) on Wednesday announced the preliminary result of parliamentary elections held on Sept. 18.
"Over 50 percent of members of Wolesi Jirga or Lower House of Afghan parliament are new faces,"Manawi told journalists at a news conference.
However, he did not give any name, saying this is preliminary results and in the final results of the elections the names could be changed.
Final result is expected to be announced within month.
Initially, the preliminary result was scheduled to be announced on Oct. 9 but was postponed twice on the ground of investigating over 4500 complaints received by Electoral Complaints Commission.
He also added that women in the western Nimroz province defeated their men rivals and secured the two seats allocated for the province.
Around 5.6 votes were casted on the ballot boxes on the election day in the country's 34 provinces and of these 1.3 million votes had been invalidated after processing, the election body's chief said.
"The number of votes identified as valid were more than 4.2 million and it is a matter of pride for all Afghans who used their franchise amid problems and security threats,"he emphasized.
Afghanistan's second parliamentary election since the collapse of Taliban regime in late 2001 was held amid tight security on Sept. 18, as Taliban militants vowed to derail it.
More than 2,500 people including over 400 women from across the country contested the election to secure seat in the 249-seat Wolesi Jirga or Lower House of parliament in Afghanistan.
