KABUL – Afghan politicians have set aside a demand for President Hamid Karzai to scrap a controversial court inquiry into election fraud, paving the way for parliament to convene in three days after weeks of infighting.
Mr Karzai on Saturday abandoned a decision to delay the assembly opening by a month, bowing to international and domestic pressure after politicians threatened to convene it with or without him on January 23rd, as originally scheduled.
The standoff threw the government into chaos at a time when insurgent violence is at its worst since the 2001 overthrow of the Taliban government.
After marathon talks on Saturday, MPs said Mr Karzai had offered to open parliament on Wednesday, but politicians also demanded that he abolish the special poll court that sparked the dispute.
It was set up by Mr Karzai, ostensibly to ensure a speedy final check of complaints from the fraud-riddled September election, but last week officials asked for more time to complete their inquiries.
Furious politicians slammed the court, its ruling and Mr Karzai’s granting of an extension as illegal, sparking the crisis.
However, although Mr Karzai has relented on the inauguration date and had hinted he might relinquish the court, yesterday he said no. More than 200 from the 249 MPs in the lower house agreed to set aside the issue of the court and to go ahead with the Wednesday inauguration, a Reuters reporter at the scene said. – (Reuters)