President Hamid Karzai on Tuesday said "foreign hands" were responsible for a crisis over the inauguration of Afghanistan's new parliament that has pitted lawmakers against the US-backed president. Karzai's statement came after he made a U-turn earlier this week, agreeing to open the parliament on Wednesday despite fraud accusations by losing candidates in September's election, having previously said he would delay it by a month.
His reversal came amid pressure from the United Nations, United States and other Western backers who have welcomed election results and called for a swift inauguration of parliament. "Some foreign hands questioned our decisions and started instigation to create crises in our country," Karzai was quoted as telling the losing candidates in a statement from his office.
They "kept provoking candidates (winning MPs) that they should inaugurate the parliament without the president's participation and that we will support you," the statement quoted the president saying. The president has so far refused to endorse results from the fraud-marred poll and despite agreeing to open the legislature he insists that a special tribunal he created to adjudicate claims of irregularities should stand.
Twenty-four early winners were disqualified, a quarter of the five million ballots cast thrown out, and there were fewer wins than expected for the majority ethnic Pashtuns in the disputed vote four months ago. Winning candidates say only regular Afghan courts can lawfully rule on fraud claims and have been stuck in days of tense negotiations with Karzai. Talks over the weekend were watched closely by the international community in Kabul - 2011 is a key year for the war-torn country, with foreign troops due to start a limited withdrawal in July.
The UN's special representative for Afghanistan, Staffan de Mistura, has been involved in trying to broker an agreement, a foreign diplomat speaking on condition of anonymity has said. The US, UN and EU have all welcomed Karzai's decision to relent and open parliament on Wednesday. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said the Afghan legal system should be allowed to proceed with fraud cases without political interference.
The mission "also affirms the right of the judiciary to prosecute exclusively individual criminal cases pursuant to Afghan current applicable law," it said in a statement. But losing candidates continue to call for a delay until the special tribunal has issued its ruling. Former MP Daud Sultanzai accused foreign embassies and the UN of pulling the strings of the Afghan government.
"Are we living in an Afghanistan that belongs to the Afghan people or to the (UN) and foreign embassies," he was quoted in a statement as telling the president. Karzai defended his U-turn and his insistence that the tribunal will stand. "To save the country from foreign interference and crisis we decided to meet with the winning candidates and make them acknowledge that after the inauguration of the parliament they need to accept the ruling of the... court," said his statement.
He claimed that winning MPs had given him a written acceptance that they will acknowledge the decisions of the court. But victorious MPs said Karzai's tribunal is unlawful and regular Afghan courts, where lawmakers may have immunity, must handle outstanding claims of election irregularities.
"It is good news for the people of Afghanistan that the national assembly will be inaugurated Wednesday," leading politician Alemi Balkhi told AFP. But an "absolute majority of the MPs say that the special tribunal is unconstitutional and its verdicts will not be recognised by the elected representatives of the people."
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