Parliament warns against changes to poll results

KABUL, or lower house of parliament, announced in a statement on Sunday.

The statement came a day after President’s Legal Advisory Board chief, Nasrullah Stanikzai, said the special election tribunal’s verdict, which disqualified 62 lawmakers, was not final and could be challenged.

The statement said the election tribunal was an illegal body and its decision had no legal standing.

“Any commission or court, if it tries to alter the final results, would face resistance from people of the country,” the statement said.

“No one has the right to advise the president regarding Parliament,” said Abdul Zahir Qadir, a lawmaker from eastern Nangarhar province.

“Some government functionaries say the Wolesi Jirga is illegitimate, while they accept salaries from the budget approved by the house,” he said, urging the government to avoid creating commissions and tribunals antithetical to Parliament.

Mohammad Naeed Hameedzai, a legislator from southern Kandahar province, said the creation of the special court made a mockery of votes cast by people of the country.

He accused fellow lawmakers of backing out of their previous stance that if a single lawmaker was unseated, they would launch a protest movement.

A Daikundi representative, Asadullah Sadati, said the special court was a political plot. He said it was time for the three pillars of the state to join hands to resolve the current crisis.

The special court has given lawmakers a month to challenge its verdict in an upper court.

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