Afghan elections earn cautious statements

KABUL, Afghanistan, Sept. 20 (UPI) -- It is too early to call the parliamentary vote in Afghanistan a success, the head of the U.N. mission said after the weekend vote.

More than 2,000 candidates competed during the weekend for the 249 seats open in the Wolesi Jirga, the lower house of parliament.

U.N. officials ahead of the vote expressed concern that fraud and insecurity could undermine the political process in the country, which voted in the midst of major international counterinsurgency operations.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, however, in a statement praised the tenacity of the estimated 4 million people who turned out to vote amid "significant security challenges."

The Taliban warned people against taking part in the weekend poll. Attacks on Election Day left 14 people dead.

Early election analysis indicates around 40 percent of eligible voters turned out to cast ballots during the weekend, which was about the same level that turned out for presidential elections in 2009.

Staffan de Mistura, the U.N. special envoy to Afghanistan, said it was too early, however, to define the parliamentary vote as a success.

"It is now up to the Afghan electoral bodies, the Independent Election Commission and the Complaints Commission, to complete their job," he said in a statement.

Presidential elections in 2009 were tainted by claims that Afghan President Hamid Karzai secured a second term in office through widespread fraud at the polls.

Final results of last week's elections are expected by the end of October.