Voting on 18 September
20 September 2005 (RFE/RL) -- The vote counting is getting under way today in Afghanistan following the country's first legislative elections in more than 30 years.
Workers have been bringing the votes from the 18 September nationwide polls to counting centers by trucks, helicopters, donkeys, and camels.
Initial official results are not expected for about two weeks in the vote for the 249 members of the Wolesi Jirga parliament and for 34 provincial councils.
Early estimates by electoral officials have put the voter turnout out at slightly more than 50 percent of about 12.4 million people who were registered to cast ballots.
This is lower than the nearly 70 percent turnout in last October's presidential election, but Afghan and international officials have nevertheless praised the parliamentary and local polls as a success.
(AP/AFP)
For RFE/RL's full coverage of the legislative elections in Afghanistan, see "Afghanistan Votes"
Initial official results are not expected for about two weeks in the vote for the 249 members of the Wolesi Jirga parliament and for 34 provincial councils.
Early estimates by electoral officials have put the voter turnout out at slightly more than 50 percent of about 12.4 million people who were registered to cast ballots.
This is lower than the nearly 70 percent turnout in last October's presidential election, but Afghan and international officials have nevertheless praised the parliamentary and local polls as a success.
(AP/AFP)
For RFE/RL's full coverage of the legislative elections in Afghanistan, see "Afghanistan Votes"