European Union observers yesterday reported "worrying cases of fraud" in landmark Afghan parliamentary elections held on September 18.

The EU mission reported ballot stuffing, proxy voting and possible intimidation of voters intended to influence their choice of candidate.

"While these phenomena do not appear to be nationwide, they are a cause for concern," the observers said, urging the election administration to address the issues transparently "to safeguard the integrity of the electoral process".

The body of 120 observers who monitored the elections continues to oversee a complicated counting process in 32 centres across the country.

More than six million Afghans voted for new national and provincial assemblies.

The joint UN-Afghan electoral authority said last week it is so far satisfied with how the election has been conducted.

Final results are expected on October 22.

The elections are regarded as a key step in war-battered Afghanistan's transition to democracy following the US-led ouster of the Taliban in late 2001.

The EU call came a day after electoral officials revealed that two election workers counting ballots were dismissed for marking blank papers in favour of certain candidates.

One, a female election employee, was caught while allegedly marking ballot papers with an eyeliner pencil for a candidate on Wednesday. A man was sacked and handed over to police for similar activity in the eastern province of Khost.

PHOTO CAPTION

An election worker checks a ballot paper at a counting center in Kabul, Afghanistan on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2005. (AP)