Defying Taliban's threat, millions of war-weary Afghans used their franchise in the September 18 landmark legislative elections, displaying their determination to strengthen stability and democracy in their war-torn country.

To build a new nation in the post-Taliban central Asian state, over six million Afghans risked militants' attacks and voted to elect the members of parliament and provincial councils, which is the first in Afghanistan in over three decades.

"Parliament is the prime element of democracy, parliament is the house of people and I cast my vote in the parliamentary elections in order to take our country towards democracy and durable stability,"48-year-old Abdul Ghani, a teacher, told Xinhua.

The Afghans he said are eyeing on the coming parliament to embrace freedom, welfare and prosperity.
 
Over 50 percent of 12.5 million Afghans used their right to elect the members of parliament and provincial councils from among nearly 5,800 candidates including 600 women on Sunday's landmark elections amid tight security.

Remnants of fundamentalist Taliban movement whose regime was unseated in late 2001 by US-led military invasion have termed the polls as "a US ploy to legitimize the occupation of Afghanistan" and warned Afghans to stay away from voting or face dire consequences.

Despite reported irregularities and alleged malpractice in some polling stations, the war-weary Afghans have respected law and order and done nothing except complaining to the concerned body the Election Complaint Commission (ECC).

Over 82,000 observers including some 800 foreigners were deployed to monitor the historic elections.
 
Though the turnout this year was lighter than last year's presidential elections it is a magnificent step towards establishing a civilized society and deserves appreciation, observers believed.

"Daring to vote by millions of Afghans in the wake of Taliban' s threat means further isolation of militants and warlords in the country," Afghan writer and journalist Ahmad Shafae maintained.

Participation of large number of women in Sunday's polls in the southern Afghanistan particularly in Kandahar the former stronghold of Taliban is a defeat to militia, he noted.

"Despite Taliban threat I cast my vote in favor of my favorite candidate in order to strengthen the rule of law and stability in the country," a young lady Friba, 22, told Xinhua in Kandahar city.

"My vote would further push to wall the warlords, Taliban, al- Qaeda and associated groups," another lady teacher in Kandahar city Shukiba Sohail said.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai and the Chief Electoral Officer of the UN-sponsored Joint Electoral Management Body (JEMB) Peter Erben described the polls as "a major success for Afghans."

"It is a defeat to terrorists and an important step towards further stability in Afghanistan as the parliamentary elections are held in a peaceful environment today," President Karzai told journalists at a press conference after casting his vote.

"It is a major success for Afghans. I am pleased that no big security incident took place," Peter Erben said.

Taliban, who vowed to derail the landmark elections failed to implement their threat except firing few isolated rockets and exploding mines that killed or injured over a dozen people including wounding two American soldiers.

Taliban's spokesman Mufti Abdul Latif Hakimi who vowed to continue militancy even after the elections said the movement's fighters conducted 39 attacks on Sunday's elections while the JEMB officials confirmed only 19 isolated cases.

"With participation in the elections the people practically became involved in deciding the country's economic and political fate. This is in people's favor and this is in people's interest, " a Kabul University professor Gul Rahman Qazi said.

(Xinhua News Agency September 20, 2005)