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Edition: U.S. Article Comments (0) Full Focus Editor's choice Our top photos from the past 24 hours. 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Taliban talks: the new mirage in Afghanistan Related Topics World » Afghanistan » Sediqullah Haqiq, the head of a special Afghan poll court, speaks during a court ruling on last year's parliamentary election results in Kabul June 23, 2011. Credit: Reuters/Mohammad Ismail By Hamid Shalizi and Paul Tait KABUL | Thu Jun 23, 2011 8:12am EDT KABUL (Reuters) - A special Afghan court set up by President Hamid Karzai after fraud-marred parliamentary elections last year threw out results in about a quarter of the seats in the assembly on Thursday, raising fears of a constitutional crisis. The court ruled that 62 lawmakers elected to the 249-seat lower house of parliament would have to vacate their seats and be replaced by new members because of alleged poll fraud. Karzai's critics have said the court was set up after the disputed 2010 election, in which Karzai's rivals made major gains, to further his political aims rather than serve justice. "Are we heading for a constitutional crisis? I'm totally flabbergasted," one Western diplomat said after he watched court officials painstakingly announce revised results for dozens of districts live on national television. "The question it raises is whether you have a constitutional democracy or not. What are we doing here?" Armed soldiers stood behind the special court judges as they read out the new results, with cheering and applause coming from newly declared winners and their supporters. The announcement of the new results came just hours after U.S. President Barack Obama set his timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, part of a gradual transition to Afghan authority that will end with all foreign combat troops leaving by the end of 2014. "LACK OF LEGAL CLARITY" Karzai set up the special tribunal by presidential decree after weeks of protests by losing candidates angry at corruption and winners frustrated they were being kept from taking their seats. "There is a lack of clarity on the constitutional and legal authority for this court and these judges," said one Kabul-based legal expert, who asked not to be identified. Sediqullah Haqiq, head of the special poll court, said the tribunal had recounted all valid votes from all of the 34 provinces and described Thursday's ruling as "final." "Those parliamentarians who won seats in parliament through electoral fraud and violation must be prosecuted," Haqiq told a news conference. He said ousted lawmakers unhappy with the new results could write letters to the Supreme Court, although it was unclear if this meant there was an official avenue of appeal available to disgruntled candidates. In one district in western Herat, a lawmaker who had been declared the winner had 5,000 votes stripped from his total while another losing candidate was awarded 12,000 more votes after the recount, reversing the previous result. Also in Herat, another candidate was awarded 12,000 new votes after failing to win any at all on the first count. Afghanistan has been in a state of political paralysis since the September 18 election, with a full cabinet still not finalized and little effective work being done. Widespread accusations of vote fraud on all sides marred the election, just as it did presidential elections in 2009 that returned Karzai to power. Karzai's government has long been claimed by accusations of widespread corruption, further straining ties with his Western backers. There was no immediate comment from Karzai about the election results being overturned. At a news conference to discuss the U.S. troop withdrawals, Karzai was whisked away by advisers and refused to answer questions. Independent election officials clashed with government officials and the special court in February, with the attorney general's office threatening to arrest election officials if they did not hand over ballot boxes. The internationally funded Independent Election Commission (IEC), which ran the poll and conducted the first count, was not available for comment, with calls going unanswered. Karzai is known to be unhappy with the make-up of the new parliament after the September vote. While not united, the new parliament could yield a more vocal and coherent opposition bloc to challenge Karzai, unlike previous assemblies. Afghanistan's political system leaves little room for political parties to operate, so changing even a few results can a significant impact. The Afghan parliament opened on January 26, more than four months after the vote, Western diplomats calling it a "big day for Afghanistan." However many Western officials in Kabul were quiet on Thursday as they digested the gravity of the special court's ruling. (Writing by Paul Tait; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani) World Afghanistan Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above. 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