Protests in Kabul as Afghan poll results released

Afghan election officials announced most of the long-delayed results from a September 18 parliamentary poll on Wednesday, but the disqualification of  three more candidates and angry protests further clouded the  poll.

The credibility of the result will weigh heavily on US President Barack Obama's review of his Afghanistan war strategy, due next month, amid rising violence and sagging  public support, especially after a fraud-marred presidential election last year.

Consistent allegations of vote fraud in both polls have raised questions about the credibility of Afghan President Hamid Karzai's government at a time when US and NATO officials have been re-examining their long-term commitment in Afghanistan.

Wednesday's events will not have helped that process. The Independent Election Commission (IEC)had promised to release  full results more than 10 weeks after the poll but IEC chairman Fazl Ahmad Manawi said results in volatile Ghazni province southwest of Kabul had still to be determined.

The other 33 provinces plus one seat for Kuchi nomads were announced. IEC spokesperson Marzia Siddiqi Salim said without  Ghazni's 11 allocated seats, 238 places in the 249-seatvwolesi, jirga, or lower house, had been decided.

"It might be in a week," Siddiqi said when asked when a new Parliament would be formed.

Manawi also said another three winning candidates had been disqualified over irregularities, taking the total thrown out  by the IEC to 24. Despite the widespread concerns about fraud, and calls by protesters for the vote to be annulled, Manawi  said there would not be another election.

"We are not planning to hold another election in any  place," Manawi told a news conference.

The United Nations mission in Afghanistan has cautiously congratulated Kabul on staging the poll despite widespread  violence, but has also noted "considerable fraud". It welcomed the declaration of results and backed the Ghazni decision.

The formation of a new parliament will be a major step in Afghanistan's path to improving its democratic governance and  the capacity of Afghan institutions to deliver services to the Afghan people," the United Nations said in a statement.                                                                                   

Disgruntled candidates, lawmakers and supporters have called for the September poll to be scrapped. Dozens took to the streets of Kabul on Wednesday to protest against a polling process they say was corrupt and shameful.

About 150 people gathered outside Karzai's palace. Some carried banners saying "Hijacked parliament = collapse of  democracy" and "IEC is the enemy of democracy". Riot police looked on and roads around the palace were blocked.

"Blocking the road and launching violence because they have not got a seat is not the right thing to do and is a malicious act against the country," Karzai said.

The protesters, mostly disgruntled candidates and their supporters, have warned that failure to address grievances  about the poll would push Afghans towards the insurgency.

Violence across Afghanistan is at its worst since the Taliban were overthrown by US-backed Afghan forces in late 2001, despite the presence of almost 150,000 foreign troops.

NATO leaders last week agreed to Karzai's 2014 target for Afghan security forces to take over from US and NATO forces,  although some US and NATO officials have warned that could spill into 2015.

The US military said on Tuesday all types of violent incidents had increased from April to the end of September, except for the use of roadside bombs, and were up 300% from 2007.

About 2,500 candidates ran for the 249 available seats. A UN-backed watchdog said on Sunday nearly one in 10 winning  candidates had been disqualified for fraud.

Those disqualifications by the UN-backed Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) cleared the way for the IEC to  release final results.

There were more than 6,000 complaints lodged with ECC and the IEC has already thrown out almost a quarter of the 5.6  million votes cast as invalid. The IEC is also being investigated by the attorney general's office over election  fraud.

Late on Tuesday, Afghan media reported two election officials -- one each from the IEC and ECC -- had been suspended by the attorney general's office for "making  statements against the national interest". Manawi said the  reports were "unfortunate".