Vote counting is due to start in Afghanistan\'s first parliamentary and provincial poll for more than 30 years. Ballot boxes have been taken to provincial capitals across Afghanistan, where the counting will take place. Election officials estimate turnout at 50% - more than 20 points lower than in last year\'s presidential poll. A number of reasons for the drop are being given, such as that many voters said they did not want to vote for candidates they regarded as warlords. There was also evidence many people found the elections confusing. Results are expected next month. President Hamid Karzai, one of the early voters, said Sunday was a good day for Afghanistan, whatever the election results. He said he hoped the parliament would provide a strong focus for democracy in the country, even if a majority of deputies oppose him. Other world leaders also welcomed the polls, including US President George W Bush, who praised Afghan voters for \"defying the Taleban\". In a videotape aired on al-Jazeera television on Monday, the poll was denounced as a farce by al-Qaeda\'s second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahri. He said northern Afghanistan had turned into a battlefield of \"chaos, looting, rape and drug trafficking which had flourished under the American occupation\". \"Thieves and warlords are controlling affairs in the country, where international monitors can\'t observe more than 10 constituencies even if they wanted to,\" he added. More than 1,000 people, including seven election candidates, have been killed in militant-linked violence in the past six months - the worst bloodshed since US-led forces ousted the Taleban in 2001. However, officials said the peaceful conduct of the polls was a victory over the militants. (BBC)