Afghanistan's parliament was on course for a confrontation with President Hamid Karzai Saturday, even before its official opening, after lawmakers vowed to go ahead with their plans to start the session "with or without" the Afghan president, according to dpa. Karzai announced Wednesday a delay in the opening of parliament, slated for Sunday, of more than a month, after a special tribunal he formed asked for more time to look into the complaints of election fraud. A leading female lawmaker said Saturday the majority of September election winners are not backing down from their plan to open the parliament with or without Karzai. "We haven't agreed to delay the opening of the parliament in our meeting that we had with President Karzai today and we still are stand on our position - we will go ahead tomorrow and inaugurate the parliament with or without the president," said Fawzia Kofi, a winner from northern province of Badakhshan. The head of the tribunal had asked the president on Wednesday to delay the opening of parliament for one month so it could further investigate the results of elections tainted by fraud allegations. The new showdown between the lawmakers and the beleaguered president is likely to plunge the country further into political crisis - at the time when Afghan and international forces are trying to turn the tide of nine-year-war against the Taliban insurgents and create a functioning government in Kabul. Daud Sultanzai, a losing candidate from most contested Ghazni province, said such a move to meet would be "unlawful" and "a mockery". Meanwhile, United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) late Friday expressed its "deep concern" and "surprise" at the call made by Karzai to delay the inauguration of the lower house. "Afghanistan's peaceful future lies in the building up of robust democratic institutions based on the rule of law and clear respect for the separation of powers," UNAMA said in a statement.
