The findings, which confirmed earlier reports, indicated that cheating was pervasive in the Sept. 18 vote that many hoped would show the Afghan government's commitment to reforming its corrupt bureaucracy.

But observers also praised the voided ballots as an achievement because it meant that the election officials had kept fraudulent ballots out of the totals.

That's a major change from last year's disastrous presidential election, when election commissioners dumped obviously fraudulent ballots into the tally to help President Hamid Karzai avoid a run-off with his top challenger. It was only after drawn-out investigations that about a million ballots were thrown out — the majority of them for Karzai.

The 2009 presidential election nearly derailed international support for Karzai, turning this year's poll into a test of whether the government is committed to reforms seen as key for justifying NATO funding and troops.

Election Commission Chairman Fazel Ahmad Manawi said about 1.3 million votes were disqualified out of 5.6 million — meaning about 23 percent of ballots — because of ballot-box stuffing or manipulated totals.

It was not immediately clear what the results released Wednesday would mean for the makeup of the 249-member Parliament.

Manawi said he did not have figures on how many of the winners were incumbents, though he said he believed it was about a 50-50 split between those who were returning and new representatives.

Though Karzai has repeatedly bypassed the Parliament by issuing laws by decree, the legislative body also is one of the few checks on Karzai's power. A legislature loaded with Karzai allies could make it easier for the president to avoid opposition.

Election officials called the vote a success because they were able to catch the fraud, but the large number of disqualified ballots may tarnish the outcome.

It is possible that those living in provinces with a large number of disqualified ballots could claim that their legitimate ballots were not counted. And in ethnically mixed provinces, there is a chance that the invalidations may favor one ethnic group over another.

A five-member fraud investigation panel also still needs to rule on more than 2,000 complaints deemed serious enough to affect results before they can be finalized.