Judges seek delay in opening Afghan parliament
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}An Afghan tribunal investigating allegations of fraud in September's parliamentary elections said Wednesday the opening session of the legislature should be delayed one month to allow judges more time for their inquiry.
The parliament had been set to start work Jan. 23 after an election plagued by irregularities and voter intimidation. The Supreme Court set up a special tribunal in December to review complaints from hundreds of losing candidates.
The head of the five-judge panel, Sedaqalluh Haqiq, told reporters it was not able to adequately investigate the charges in the few weeks since it began its work. He said there was evidence of fraud countrywide and chastised election officials for being uncooperative.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Election officials had certified the results of the Sept. 18 balloting after an earlier investigation by a fraud-monitoring panel. But the attorney general concluded that investigation had not been thorough enough and launched a new round of inquiries that led to the creation of the special tribunal.
It is unclear if the tribunal has the power to alter the result of any races. Afghan electoral law names the fraud investigation panel as the ultimate arbiter of such issues and the Independent Election Commission as the body to declare final results.
However, Haqiq said the tribunal does have the power to overturn results and even invalidate the entire election.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}It is up to President Hamid Karzai to officially open the parliamentary session. He said previously that he planned to do so on Jan. 23 but also that he would let the investigations opened by the attorney general and the courts to run their course.