The latest blow to a vote already plagued by allegations of widespread corruption comes a day after NATO wrapped up a major summit in Lisbon where Afghanistan topped the agenda, particularly an exit plan for foreign troops there.

Twenty-one candidates who had earned a winning number of votes in their district were banned, said Ahmad Zia Rafat, part of the five-person Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) panel. There are 249 seats in Parliament.

"Due to irregularities, usage of fake votes and the influence of provincial officials, which created electoral fraud, we decided to disqualify votes in their favor," Rafat told a news conference in the Afghan capital.

Seven of those disqualified were sitting members of Parliament, and one is a first cousin of President Hamid Karzai, who shares his surname. The rejected candidates will not be able to appeal, Rafat added.

Final results have still not been released more than two months after the Sept. 18 poll, because of the sheer volume of complaints to investigate, but the disqualifications could pave the way for a conclusion of the election process.

The ECC will pass the names to the Independent Election Commission which is tasked with announcing the new members of the Wolesi Jirga, or lower house of Parliament.

Complaints about fraud and vote rigging began before Afghans even went to the polls, although limited violence on the day meant it was initially hailed by Afghan officials as a success.

Scores of candidates have alleged bribe-taking or fraud by election officials and called for a new poll. Some have warned that a Parliament that does not take properly represent the country's various ethnicities would lead to instability.

There were over 6,000 complaints made to the ECC, and the IEC, which administered the vote, threw out as invalid almost a quarter of the 5.6 million votes it said had been cast.

The IEC itself is also being investigated by the attorney general's office over election fraud.

The disqualified candidates came from all around the country. They include at least two Karzai allies including his first cousin Ashmat Khalil Karzai, once ran a security company, and Haji Niaz Mohammad Lalai who is a former Islamic fighter close to the president. Both had run in Kandahar.

Unsuccessful candidates warned that if the final makeup of Parliament is heavily tainted by corruption, or does not offer proper representation for the country's different ethnicities, it could create resentment that will fuel instability.

"The mafia has taken over Parliament, the ethnic representation of the this country is completely demolished," said Dawood Sultanzoy, an outspoken current member of parliament. He says many of his votes were unfairly disqualified and he currently does not expect to hold his seat. "(This) can send hundreds of thousands of people into the arms of the insurgency," he added.