Afghan president: Courts cannot change election results

Afghanistans president issued a decree Wednesday stating that the countrys courts do not have the power to alter election results, a move that appeared aimed at ending months of uncertainty over the parliaments legitimacy.The Afghan parliament has been in limbo for months after a special court called for the removal of 62 sitting lawmakers, saying they won their seats through fraud.In his decree, President Hamid Karzai said that the Independent Election Commission which organized the vote holds the final authority on deciding vote counts and results. Presidential spokesman Siamak Herawi said the commission will evaluate the courts findings and will decide if any candidates should be removed.Many international observers have claimed that Karzai was using the court to pack the legislature with his supporters, and the countrys Western allies have argued that the courts call for the lawmakers removal was unconstitutional. Under Afghan law, only the IEC and a vote-fraud monitoring body are empowered to change the results.