Date:26/09/2005 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2005/09/26/stories/2005092606541400.htm

International

Preliminary results of Afghan poll released

KABUL: Electoral officials on Sunday released the first partial, preliminary results from Afghanistan's landmark legislative elections as thousands of staffers continued to count ballots across the country.

The U.N.-Afghan Joint Electoral Management Body posted partial results from three of 34 provinces on its website, listing the percentage of votes counted and the number cast for each candidate.

Afghans voted on September 18 for the national Parliament and Provincial Councils in the final formal step toward democracy under a plan laid out following the ouster of the hard-line Taliban from power by U.S.-led forces in 2001.

The Government and its international backers hope the elections will help bring stability after more than three decades of war, chaos and political conflict. — AP