Afghan president: Courts cannot change election

Afghanistan's president has issued a decree stating that the country's courts do not have the power to alter election results.

The ruling issued Wednesday by President Hamid Karzai appears to put an end to months of uncertainty about this year's parliamentary election. A special tribunal had called for the removal of 62 sitting parliamentarians, saying that they won their seats through fraud.

The decree says the Independent Election Commission holds the final authority on deciding vote counts and results. It says this commission will evaluate the court's findings and will decide if any candidates should be removed.