Results from Afghanistan's legislative elections are finalised

(12 Nov 2005) 1. Various street scenes of Kabul 2. Set up of Joint Electoral Management Body (JEMB) members looking at computer 3. Various of press release from the Joint Electoral Management Body (JEMB) certifying all results 4. SOUNDBITE: (English) Sultan Ahmed Baheen, Joint Electoral Management Body Spokesman: "The result for all policies was finalised. And we have the members from the Wolesi Jirga (parliament) from all parts of the country and also from the provincial councils." 5. Election poster 6. Ex-Taliban member, Abdul Salaam Rocketi, who won a seat in the parliament (Wolesi Jirga), being greeted by people 7. Men seated 8. Rocketi greeting a man 9. Rocketi seated and speaking with reporter 10. SOUNDBITE: (Pashtu) Abdul Salaam Rocketi, Elected to Afghan's Wolesi Jirga: "Democracy has different meanings, in my opinion the real democracy is good for Afghanistan , because everyone can express his ideas and say the truth." 11. Poster of woman wearing a burka voting 12. Setup of Safia Siddiqi, female candidate who was elected to the Wolesi Jirga 13. SOUNDBITE: (English) Safia Siddiqi, Elected to the Wolesi Jirga: "As a voice of the people, as a trusted member of the community, of course the women who are getting a part in the parliament they will be a voice of the other women and the majority of the silent in this country." 14. Various of ballots being carried on donkey's backs STORYLINE: The results of Afghanistan's landmark legislative elections in September were finalised on Saturday after eight weeks of counting were slowed by allegations of fraud. Election observers said supporters of President Hamid Karzai appeared to be in the majority. Nearly all winning candidates ran as independents, making it difficult to determine where power will lie in the 249-seat legislature called the Wolesi Jirga. But Western diplomats and other political analysts said it appears that supporters of the U.S.-backed Karzai hold most of the seats. The polls were hailed as the final formal step towards having a representative government in Afghanistan after a quarter century of war that left more than 1 million people dead. But repeated delays in announcing the results, as well as suspected ballot box stuffing and the dismissal of 50 election staff for alleged fraud, have undermined the legitimacy of this exercise in postwar democracy - which cost 159 (m) million US dollars and was mainly funded by the U.S. and other Western countries. Despite the setbacks to the elections, they were welcomed by many, especially women, who have never had a strong voice in politics. A quarter of the parliamentary seats are reserved for women and 68 were named as new lawmakers. A female politician Safia Siddiqi, who was one of those elected to the Wolesi Jirga, told APTN that female lawmakers would provide a voice for women and others who are marginalised in Afghan society. A Western diplomat in Kabul, speaking on condition of anonymity because she is not authorised to speak to the media, said intelligence reports suggested Karzai's people have a slim majority. But she said that included among Karzai's supporters are several candidates with violent pasts, including Abdul Rasul Sayyaf, a powerful militia leader accused of war crimes by New York-based Human Rights Watch, and Abdul Salaam Rocketi, a former Taliban commander who has since reconciled with the government. Both have expressed their support for Karzai. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...