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26 January 2011
Last updated at 03:11 ET
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has opened parliament, after failing to win a delay to allow September's disputed elections to be investigated.
Mr Karzai had wanted a special election court to investigate fraud allegations.
But the newly elected MPs argued that it was unconstitutional, and just a means to eject opponents of the president from their seats.
They were backed by the international community, which was worried the standoff could spill onto the streets.
The 249-member lower house of parliament - the Wolasi Jerga - was originally scheduled to open on Sunday.
Challenge to Karzai? The BBC's Paul Wood in Kabul say the new parliament's inauguration brings an end to a test of wills in which President Karzai was the loser.
He had sought a further delay of at least a month to let his special election tribunal investigate the fraud allegations.
But the newly elected MPs said that was just a means to ejecting opponents of the president from their newly won seats.
The members of the new parliament were backed by the international community - Western officials in Kabul were worried that the confrontation could eventually spill onto the streets.
Police on Wednesday closed off roads more than 1km (half a mile) from the parliamentary building in Kabul in an effort to secure the area.
Officers also surrounded the auditorium where the swearing-in-ceremony - led by President Karzai - is taking place. Winning candidates arrived wearing suits or dressed in traditional robes.
Losing candidates continue to press their case that they have been cheated.
More than 100 of them met the president on Tuesday and accused him of caving in to pressure from the West.
The losing candidates had said parliament should not open until all investigations finish.
But there is still no agreement about the powers of the disputed five-judge tribunal that President Karzai has appointed to investigate the fraud investigations.
The tribunal's judges say they have the authority to order recounts and even nullify the entire election if needed. They have said they intend to pursue cases against 59 winning candidates.
But election officials and international officials say the tribunal's assertions are in breach of both the constitution and electoral law.
Disqualified The US and the UN had condemned in strong terms last week's announcement by the president that he would delay the opening of parliament for a month.
Mr Karzai accused "foreign hands" of trying to provoke a crisis in Afghanistan by taking sides with the MPs.
The special tribunal was set up by the Supreme Court to investigate allegations of fraud in September's parliamentary elections.
About a quarter of the five million votes cast were thrown out and 24 early winners were disqualified.
Critics say Mr Karzai is not happy with the results of the parliamentary poll, which has produced a lower house with a larger, more vocal and coherent opposition.
The new chamber contains bigger groups of ethnic Tajiks and Hazaras, who could challenge the president's traditional power base among Pashtuns, Afghanistan's largest ethnic group.
Although it is largely seen as weak in comparison with the president and his government, the legislature has successfully blocked many cabinet appointments and is a major dissenting voice in the country.
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Mr Karzai had wanted a special election court to investigate fraud allegations.
But the newly elected MPs argued that it was unconstitutional, and just a means to eject opponents of the president from their seats.
They were backed by the international community, which was worried the standoff could spill onto the streets.
The 249-member lower house of parliament - the Wolasi Jerga - was originally scheduled to open on Sunday.
Challenge to Karzai? The BBC's Paul Wood in Kabul say the new parliament's inauguration brings an end to a test of wills in which President Karzai was the loser.
He had sought a further delay of at least a month to let his special election tribunal investigate the fraud allegations.
But the newly elected MPs said that was just a means to ejecting opponents of the president from their newly won seats.
The members of the new parliament were backed by the international community - Western officials in Kabul were worried that the confrontation could eventually spill onto the streets.
Police on Wednesday closed off roads more than 1km (half a mile) from the parliamentary building in Kabul in an effort to secure the area.
Officers also surrounded the auditorium where the swearing-in-ceremony - led by President Karzai - is taking place. Winning candidates arrived wearing suits or dressed in traditional robes.
Losing candidates continue to press their case that they have been cheated.
More than 100 of them met the president on Tuesday and accused him of caving in to pressure from the West.
The losing candidates had said parliament should not open until all investigations finish.
But there is still no agreement about the powers of the disputed five-judge tribunal that President Karzai has appointed to investigate the fraud investigations.
The tribunal's judges say they have the authority to order recounts and even nullify the entire election if needed. They have said they intend to pursue cases against 59 winning candidates.
But election officials and international officials say the tribunal's assertions are in breach of both the constitution and electoral law.
Disqualified The US and the UN had condemned in strong terms last week's announcement by the president that he would delay the opening of parliament for a month.
Mr Karzai accused "foreign hands" of trying to provoke a crisis in Afghanistan by taking sides with the MPs.
The special tribunal was set up by the Supreme Court to investigate allegations of fraud in September's parliamentary elections.
About a quarter of the five million votes cast were thrown out and 24 early winners were disqualified.
Critics say Mr Karzai is not happy with the results of the parliamentary poll, which has produced a lower house with a larger, more vocal and coherent opposition.
The new chamber contains bigger groups of ethnic Tajiks and Hazaras, who could challenge the president's traditional power base among Pashtuns, Afghanistan's largest ethnic group.
Although it is largely seen as weak in comparison with the president and his government, the legislature has successfully blocked many cabinet appointments and is a major dissenting voice in the country.
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