Monday, January 24, 2011

Karzai bows to pressure on parliament delay

Afghan president Hamid Karzai has announced the inauguration of the new Afghan parliament will go ahead tomorrow after protests by rebel MPs.

Mr Karzai has been forced to back down after he tried to delay the opening of parliament by a month.

The lower house will be inaugurated tomorrow after MPs, the US and the United Nations warned Mr Karzai of a potential constitutional crisis if he postponed the ceremony.

He announced last week the inauguration would be delayed to give extra time to a special tribunal investigating electoral fraud.

But he now says parliament will be opened tomorrow because it is in the national interest of Afghanistan.

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