The September legislative election in Afghanistan was a final step toward a representative government. The election - held on a non-party basis - was organized by the UN and was a first in decades as well as a milestone in the country's transition to democracy. All the 5,800 candidates contested as independents and voting was along ethnic lines because of the dominance of the tribes in their respective regions. Election results indicate that the legislators would be a mixture of anti-Soviet resistance leaders, warlords, drug-lords, religious conservatives, former members of the Taliban and more importantly, women.

The new assembly would convene in December after members are appointed to the Meshrano Jirga (House of the Elders), and will face enormous challenges. Various factors would impinge on the reconstruction process; attacks by the Taliban on NATO and US forces; problem of narcotics and drug smuggling; warlords being part of the new assembly; and women being part of the new legislature. It is imperative to analyze these problems.

Afghanistan is a 'narco' state producing 90 per cent of the world's opium. The problem has been aggravated with former military commanders helping drug-traffickers. In many cases, those who assigned to stop the trade are guilty of facilitating the drug trade. The post-Taliban boom in opium production means that drug money now permeates every stratum of Afghanistan's society. The stabilization and reconstruction efforts will be neutralized unless the narco-trafficking problem is addressed. The Afghan government has prioritized countering the narcotics trade and fighting terrorism its principal aim. Now the new National Assembly would have to address this crucial issue.

Former anti-Soviet Mujahidin commanders and Islamic warlords are to dominate the first Parliament. The warlords - most of whom command private militias - include former Northern Alliance commanders who worked closely with the US coalition to defeat the Taliban. Some play a key role in Karzai's government, and many areas are entirely under the warlords' control. They generally exercise a combination of political, economic, and military power outside the constitutional or legal framework and enjoy financial support from the US for their help against the Taliban. Some are also involved in drug smuggling.

The Taliban and its remnants would be a major challenge. It has been trying to disrupt the democratic process; its attacks against the US and NATO International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) are a real and continuing threat. It has acted as an impediment in the reconstruction process as has been threatening forces from the other countries. Karzai's government has repeatedly accused Pakistan of harbouring and supporting insurgency along the Afghan-Pakistan border. Pakistan also stands accused of training young men in training centres linked to madrassas, who are then sent to fight coalition forces in Afghanistan. This would also seriously affect the process of stabilization.

Women played a prominent role in this election; they obtained all 68 seats reserved for them in the Wolesi Jirga, but five provincial council seats in the conservative south and east were left vacant because few candidates registered. Women in Afghanistan were excluded from the decision making process while under the Taliban regime. Under the new law, women are guaranteed one quarter of the 249 national assembly seats. For parliamentary elections, women voters registered in greater numbers compared to Afghanistan's presidential vote last year. Many Afghan intellectuals and liberals fear that the Parliament has an inbuilt conservative Islamic majority that would lead to greater restrictions on media and in other areas. Women also fear that a fragmented Parliament might emerge with members focused on parochial issues.

Some Taliban members have joined the mainstream raising concerns; many fear that the accused Taliban would also escape punishment and that new parliamentarians could use their position to grant an amnesty for those guilty of past crimes. The United Nations - a key financial supporter - has admitted the presence of the old guard in the new legislature and is working with the government on setting up a system of "transitional justice" to deal with past abuses.

Outside observers see a return to democracy as key to Afghanistan's long-term reconstruction and stability to a country that is devastated by decades of violence. Though many in post-war Afghanistan have welcomed this massive exercise in democracy, great challenges lie ahead for the new assembly.