Afghans voted in national assembly and provincial elections Sunday, September 18. The ballot resulted in the election of powerful warlords -- several of whom joined President Hamid Karzai's government. Many of these warlords have been condemned for their abuse of power and human rights violations.

Mehmooda Shekiba from RAWA writes:
Different kinds of rigging were so blatant that even pro-government and pro-fundamentalist papers couldn’t help but to hint at them. In many districts no women could participate in the elections due to security problems. Nevertheless thousands of votes of the women were somehow managed to be cast into the ballot boxes.... In Kunduz province, 260,000 votes were cast, but 6,000 of them were excluded in favor of a pro-fundamentalist candidate.
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It is not difficult to predict what will be the result of the “miracle” election about which you take comfort. A parliament filled with the most cruel, misogynist, anti-democracy, and reactionary fundamentalists headed by such disgusting drug traders as Sayyaf, Qanoni, Rabbani, Mohaqqiq, Pairam Qul, Hazrat Ali, and their likes. These U.S. backed religious fascists will never “spread democracy”, but rather try to “legitimate” and perpetuate their bloody domination on our people by sitting in the legislature as “lawmakers”.

Fragmented Parliament | As Afghans count votes, Karzai queries US tactics | A Mockery Of Democracy | Entrenching Warlord Rule? | Puzzle Of The Stay-Away Voters | Afghanistan's Elections: Much Ado About Nothing