Both election groups have been criticized by Mr. Karzai’s attorney general, and he has even had some members arrested.  The parliamentary election was pushed forward by the United Nations and a coalition of foreign countries, including the United States, in an effort to restore legitimacy to democracy in Afghanistan after the well-documented and widespread fraud in the presidential election in 2009 that kept Mr. Karzai in power. But the effort has backfired, prompting increasingly serious internal clashes.  Nader Nadery of the Free Election Foundation of Afghanistan, an independent monitoring organization, called the court panel “unconstitutional.”  “It is not for the courts to make a decision about the election results,” he said. “If they start ruling outside of their legal mandate, they call into question the entire democratic process.”  The attorney general’s office defended the special panel, saying that the Independent Election Commission and the Electoral Complaints Commission had not adequately resolved dozens of complaints before announcing the election results, and had therefore left the government few options.  “Before we finished our investigation, the election commission announced the results of the election,” said Hafizullah Hafiz, the head of the attorney general’s complaints department. “They announced 59 people as successful winners — people whom they originally said were involved in the fraud.”  Over all, Pashtuns lost at least 26 seats, according to the results announced by the Independent Election Commission. Pashtuns, forming nearly half of the Afghan population, will hold only 94 out of 249 seats if the results stand.  Some rivals were blunt in accusing Mr. Karzai of trying to return power to his supporters. “Karzai has a much lesser number of allies in Parliament than he wanted,” said Abdullah Abdullah, who ran against Mr. Karzai in the last election. “He wants to stack Parliament and have a hand — leverage for the future.”  Among the dozens of disqualified politicians, the panel has inspired new hope.  “We can’t afford a Parliament where millions of people are not represented at all,” said Daoud Sultanzoi, a Pashtun politician from Ghazni Province, who for months has been prominently protesting his disqualification by the electoral commission.  “I do hope they will nullify this election,” he said of the court, adding that international governments and the United Nations had “meddled in Afghanistan’s internal affairs,” pushing the electoral commission to declare results that he called illegal.  Ahmad Khan Samangani, a disqualified Tajik politician from Samangan Province, agreed.  “We have complained to government institutions that our votes have been stolen and that we have to be given our rights back,” he said. “We are happy that the Supreme Court has created the new court.”  At the news conference Monday, Mr. Haqiq, the head of the new five-judge panel, stressed that his members would work closely with the country’s Electoral Complaints Commission if necessary. Members of the commission grudgingly pledged to share minimal information.  “We are ready to help them only in giving them the numbers of complaints we have examined,” said Mr. Rafat, the commission’s spokesman.  “We will provide information to them on how many cases we have looked at and how we reached our conclusion,” he said, before denouncing the court.  “The court was established under pressure from the government and political groups,” Mr. Rafat said. “Therefore, I tell you that this court will not be impartial and it will be under pressure from the government and other people with links with the government.”  Hyperbole is not unknown here, but neither is violence, and some Afghans predicted trouble if Pashtuns were not awarded more seats.  “We are trying to calm our followers, but if they don’t get justice, many will turn to violence,” said Mr. Sultanzoi, the disqualified candidate. “It is not a question of them joining the Taliban. Our followers are the majority. The Taliban will join them.”  KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The leaders of the largest tribe in a Taliban stronghold in southern Helmand Province have pledged to halt insurgent attacks and expel foreign fighters from one of the most violent spots in the country, the senior United States Marine general in Afghanistan said Monday.  Maj. Gen. Richard Mills, who commands coalition forces in the southwest, said the deal was struck between local elders in the Sangin District and the Helmand governor, Gulabuddin Mangal, with the consultation of coalition forces.  A version of this article appears in print on January 4, 2011, on Page A8 of the New York edition with the headline: Judges Set to Rule on Afghan Election Complaints Within 2 Weeks. Order Reprints| Today's Paper|Subscribe
A panel the Supreme Court set up said it would issue rulings within two weeks on complaints of election abuse in September’s vote.