Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Wednesday delayed parliament's opening session by one month so that a controversial tribunal he has backed can continue its investigation into election fraud.
The tribunal is considered unconstitutional by both the international community and the electoral bodies that organized and oversaw the parliamentary vote in September.
The decision is significant because it leaves the nation without a check on executive power for at least another month. Karzai will effectively rule by decree in the interim. It also raises the possibility that Karzai's government is looking for ways to change the election's results, which went against many of his supporters.
SUICIDE BOMBERS STRIKE AGAIN IN IRAQ, RAISING NEW FEARS
Suicide bombers struck in Iraq for a third consecutive day on Wednesday, killing at least 15 people in two attacks in Diyala Province and raising fears of a renewed insurgent campaign targeting security forces and government officials.
In the deadliest incident, a suicide bomber drove an ambulance packed with explosives into a police training center in the provincial capital of Baqubah, about 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, killing at least 13 people and injuring 70.
In a second attack, a man wearing an explosive vest detonated himself near the convoy of a provincial council official during a gathering of Shiite pilgrims north of Baqubah. The blast killed two and injured 15.
Wednesday's blasts came a day after a suicide attacker targeting police recruits killed 60 people in Tikrit. On Monday, a suicide car bomber attacked the convoy of the governor of Anbar Province, killing one person.
NEWS SERVICES
