14 January 2019•Update: 14 January 2019
By Shadi Khan Saif
KABUL, Afghanistan
A new emerging class of Afghan businessmen and development contractors won the parliamentary elections in capital Kabul, officials announced Monday.
Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission announced long-due results of the parliamentary elections held in October. Serious allegations of rigging, protests and technical glitches caused the delay.
Gulajan Abdul Badi Sayad, head of the election commission, said that political leaders should acknowledge and respect the results announced under such difficult circumstances.
This comes after Vice President Sarwar Danish blamed the commission of undermining the credibility of the government with the delay.
Ajmal Rehmani, a young businessman and former procurement contractor for the NATO forces, has topped the list of 33 winners that have made it to the Afghan parliament from Kabul. Many more candidates with similar background secured the seats along with some old stalwarts in the Afghan political arena.
The Afghan parliament has a relatively weak role in the presidential system of government.
Some 800 individuals competed for the parliament in Kabul.
The UN mission in Afghanistan has noted in a report that the Taliban launched a deliberate campaign of violence and intimidation to disrupt the elections, resulting in civilian casualties on election day.
The report verified a total of 435 civilian casualties (56 deaths and 379 injured) during the vote.
