Almost all the victorious candidates ran as independents, but observers said supporters of President Hamid Karzai appeared to claim a majority of the 249 seats.

Several prominent former warlords and Taliban supporters, however, also won seats.

Election winners in Kabul include Mohammad Younis Qanooni, Karzai's main challenger during the 2004 presidential elections. Others elected include ethnic Hazara warlord Mohammad Mohaqeq and Abdul Rab Rasul Sayyaf, another warlord who has been accused by Human Rights Watch of war crimes.

A former prominent Taliban commander, Mullah Abdul Salam Raketi, won a seat in the southern province of Zabul, where Taliban insurgents remain active.

The Joint Electoral Management Body released the results on its web site (www.jemb.org).

(RFE/RL Afghan Service/AP/AFP)

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