Court tells Karzai not to convene House for a month
REUTERS KABUL: A court set up to investigate widespread fraud complaints from Afghanistans September election has asked President Hamid Karzai to delay forming a new parliament for at least a month while it sifts through evidence.
Sadiqullah Haqiq, head of the tribunal, said his team had not ruled out calling regional recounts and might also travel to see some of the most contested areas.
The court has asked President Karzai to postpone the inauguration of Parliament for at least another month, to ensure justice, Haqiq told journalists in Kabul.
Critics say the new courts authority under Afghan law is unclear, and Haqiq did not spell out what would happen if Karzai declined to put off the inauguration.
The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Karzais office declined immediate comment on whether he would support a delay. Parliament was due to be inaugurated on January 23.
The poll was marred by widespread fraud, with problems including fake voter cards, multiple voting and intimidation, and the Independent Election Commission threw out nearly a quarter of the 5.6 million votes cast in the September 18 poll.
But after further checks by an election watchdog, IEC announced what were supposed to be final results by December 1.
Some losing candidates who have organised weeks of protests against the final results came to the news conference, and after Haqiq made his call for a delay and further checks, many jumped up to clap and shout God is great.
But after four months without a parliament there are fears that further waiting will fuel political unrest and instability. And winning members of parliament, who have already started an orientation week, may not accept a delay quietly.
We are representatives of our nation, and we are going to open the parliament on Sunday as scheduled, said Mirwais Yasini, a successful candidate from eastern Nangarhar province.
Karza! i has be en critical of the poll, which is likely to have produced a parliament with a larger, more vocal and coherent opposition bloc than the previous assembly. It will also have larger numbers of ethnic Tajiks and Hazaras to challenge Karzais Pashtun powerbase.
Until recently, parliament had largely acted as a rubber stamp for Karzai, but it flexed its political muscle earlier this year when it rejected several of his cabinet nominees.
Sadiqullah Haqiq, head of the tribunal, said his team had not ruled out calling regional recounts and might also travel to see some of the most contested areas.
The court has asked President Karzai to postpone the inauguration of Parliament for at least another month, to ensure justice, Haqiq told journalists in Kabul.
Critics say the new courts authority under Afghan law is unclear, and Haqiq did not spell out what would happen if Karzai declined to put off the inauguration.
The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Karzais office declined immediate comment on whether he would support a delay. Parliament was due to be inaugurated on January 23.
The poll was marred by widespread fraud, with problems including fake voter cards, multiple voting and intimidation, and the Independent Election Commission threw out nearly a quarter of the 5.6 million votes cast in the September 18 poll.
But after further checks by an election watchdog, IEC announced what were supposed to be final results by December 1.
Some losing candidates who have organised weeks of protests against the final results came to the news conference, and after Haqiq made his call for a delay and further checks, many jumped up to clap and shout God is great.
But after four months without a parliament there are fears that further waiting will fuel political unrest and instability. And winning members of parliament, who have already started an orientation week, may not accept a delay quietly.
We are representatives of our nation, and we are going to open the parliament on Sunday as scheduled, said Mirwais Yasini, a successful candidate from eastern Nangarhar province.
Karza! i has be en critical of the poll, which is likely to have produced a parliament with a larger, more vocal and coherent opposition bloc than the previous assembly. It will also have larger numbers of ethnic Tajiks and Hazaras to challenge Karzais Pashtun powerbase.
Until recently, parliament had largely acted as a rubber stamp for Karzai, but it flexed its political muscle earlier this year when it rejected several of his cabinet nominees.
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