Afghan tribunal ejects lawmakers over election fraud

Jun 23, 2011, 14:10 GMT

Kabul - A special tribunal setup by President Hamid Karzai to look into alleged fraud during Afghanistan's September parliamentary polls overturned its results and ejected 62 lawmakers, or about one quarter of its members, court officials said Thursday.

Sediqullah Haqiq, head of the special court, also said the ejected parliamentarians should face prosecution.

'Those parliamentarians who won seats in parliament through electoral fraud and violation must be prosecuted,' he said, adding that the vote-count fraud was committed in all but one of the country's provinces.

The parliamentary elections for the lower house, the Wolesi Jirga, was marred by fraud and voting irregularities.

Two election commissions nullified around a quarter of the more than 5 million votes cast and declared 249 winners after disqualifying 24 preliminary winners, including one of Karzai's cousins.

The president appointed the special tribunal of the Supreme Court to look into the fraud complaints after opposition candidates demanded a new vote.

Karzai's critics say the tribunal was designed to make parliament more malleable, with several lawmakers calling the tribunal 'unconstitutional.' They are also threatening to take their protests to the streets.

On Wednesday, the lower house summoned the country's chief prosecutor and chief justice over the issue. But the officials declined to appear, saying the summon held no legal sway.

The parliament then passed a no-confidence vote against the attorney general.

Haqiq said those who were unsatisfied with its findings could appeal to Supreme Court. The head of tribunal also said the panel will reconvene on Saturday, when more results could be overturned.

It was unclear what the ejected lawmakers' next step would be.

Political analyst Haroon Mir said Thursday's 'tactical decision' by the election tribunal would likely spark a 'political crisis' at a sensitive time for the country, with the United States moving to withdraw its forces.

'The central government has been seriously weakened and the government has not been able to improve governance and provide justice to people,' Mir said.