As the troubled country takes its first steps towards democracy, Malalai Joya, 27, will take her seat in the Wolesi Jirga, or House of the People, representing the remote province of Farah.

Ms Joya rose to national prominence when she criticised the role of warlords in Afghanistan at a conference to approve the new constitution in 2003.

As a result she faced death threats and had to campaign under tight security. However, her criticisms found favour with her constituency in the western province that borders Iran.

Five seats for parliament were allocated for Farah province, with one reserved for a woman. Ms Joya finished second in the poll with 7,813 votes.

“I am very happy, it’s a proud day for me,” Ms Joya said.

“I hope by being a member of parliament I will be able to serve my people, especially the women. I will do my best to stop the warlords and criminals from building any laws that will jeopardise the rights of Afghan people, especially the women,” she said.

It was in Farah province that the British security contractor David Addison was abducted and murdered by suspected Taleban rebels early last month.

It had been widely predicted that in such a conservative country as Afghanistan, women would be elected only because of a quota system that guarantees them 27 per cent of the seats in parliament. So far these predictions have proved unfounded, with women in many provinces beating their male counterparts.

The September 18 elections have been clouded by widespread claims of voting irregularities, and partial results indicate that many warlords will be taking their places in parliament next to Ms Joya.

One such candidate, Abdul Rasoul Sayyaf, is named in numerous human rights abuse cases. He is now running fourth for the 33 seats available in Kabul province, with 65 per cent of the vote counted. Mr Sayyaf has had votes from 62 polling stations in his district of Paghman excluded amid allegations of voting irregularities.

This is unlikely to see him drop out of the running but may hamper his chances of a strong standing when elected. Peter Erben, the chief electoral officer, said that the finalised election results are not expected until the end of this month, when the complaints process has been completed.

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