Afghan election commission removes nine parliamentarians

Aug 21, 2011, 7:58 GMT

Kabul - Afghanistan's election commission on Sunday disqualified nine members of parliament, far less than the 62 names thrown out by a special tribunal set up by President Hamid Karzai.

'After looking into the issue, the commission decided that nine lawmakers who have the least votes from their relevant provinces are not qualified to hold a Wolesi Jirga seat,' Fazal Ahmad Manawi, chief of the commission, said.

It was a difficult decision to make, Manawi said, addressing a press conference in Kabul on Sunday.

The September 2010 election for the lower house was plagued by fraud and violence.

The Independent Election Commission (IEC) and the Election Complaints Commission nullified around a quarter of the more than 5 million votes cast and declared 249 winners after disqualifying 24 preliminary victors including one of the president's cousins.

In June, the special tribunal set up by Karzai to look into alleged fraud during the polls rejected results and declared new winners for 62 seats, about one-fourth of the 249-member assembly, following a recount.

Last week, Karzai asked the IEC to give a final verdict on the tribunal's finding, saying it had the last say on electoral matters.

But of the 62 new winners declared by the tribunal, the IEC agreed in only nine cases, Manawi said.

'Therefore, the commission decided that these nine representatives must be introduced to the parliament of Afghanistan,' he said, replacing those who are already in the lower house.

'(They) must be disqualified and their seats should be allocated to the new winners,' Manawi said.

The IEC had earlier opposed the tribunal's decision saying its formation was illegal. Most sitting parliamentarians also protested, raising fears of a stand-off between Karzai and the parliament.

Karzai's critics say the tribunal was formed to scare the new legislators into obeying him.

Manawi said Karzai had not directly intervened though 'some pro-government groups put pressure on us.' This had not affected the IEC's decision however, he said.

The wrangling between the beleaguered Afghan president and parliamentarians is certain to plunge the country deeper into a new political crisis at a time when violence is at record high and the United States and its allies in NATO have started pulling out from the decade-long conflict.