Afghan election authorities cancelled 1.3 million votes in last month’s parliamentary election, nearly a quarter of the 5.6 million ballots cast, the country’s top electoral officer said on Wednesday.

“The total number of ballots poured into the boxes was 5,600,000, the valid vote is 4,265,347, and the invalid vote is around 1,300,000,” said Fazil Ahmad Manawi, head of the Independent Election Commission (IEC).

The number of cancelled votes represents more than 23 percent of the number of ballots cast in the 18th September election.

Afghans voted in the country’s second post-Taliban parliamentary election since the Islamist regime was overthrown in a US-led invasion in late 2001.

More than 2,500 candidates stood for 249 seats in the lower house of parliament, the Wolesi Jirga.

Manawi, announcing preliminary results, said the IEC had identified 224 candidates as “suspicious” over allegations of possible fraud.

Final results are not expected until the end of this month but could be delayed as the Electoral Complaints Commission completes investigations of thousands of complaints, including against the “suspicious” candidates.

The election followed last year’s presidential vote which was marred by widespread fraud and the invalidation of around 1.5 million votes – also around one quarter of the total – most in favour of the incumbent