Final Results Of Last Year's General Elections In Kabul Announced

KABUL -- The Afghan election authorities have announced the final results of the country's parliamentary polls in Kabul, seven months after the vote was held.

The Independent Election Commission (IEC) said late on May 14 that in Kabul Province, 24 men and nine women had won seats in the lower house of Afghanistan's parliament, the Wolesi Jirga.

Ajmal Rahmani, a businessman, is leading the winners' list with more than 11,000 votes, according to the IEC.

Voters in Afghanistan cast their ballots on October 20 last year to choose their representatives in the parliament's lower chamber. The polls were held after months of delay.

The preliminary election results in Kabul were announced in January by the IEC, whose members were later fired and replaced for allegedly abusing their authority.

The electoral officials were heavily criticized following the delayed parliamentary polls, which also were marred by inefficiencies that included absent electoral staff and missing voting materials.

The May 14 announcement comes ahead of the country's presidential election now planned for September 28.

The vote has been postponed twice to give the authorities more time to organize the ballot and fix the problems that occurred during the October elections.

The presidential election was initially scheduled for April 20, then delayed until July 20.