Afghanistan's parliament has voted to sack the country's five most senior judicial officials, a move that deepens the nation's ongoing political crisis.

The vote comes after a special tribunal set up by President Hamid Karzai on Thursday disqualified about one quarter of the winners of last year's parliamentary election after an investigation into allegations of massive voter fraud.

Mr. Karzai's critics say the tribunal was set up to counter the elections in which the president's opponents made major gains. They accuse Mr. Karzai of using the tribunal to reshape the membership of parliament more to his liking.

The parliament voted on Saturday to sack the top judicial officers of the Supreme Court for failing to rule the tribunal illegal and disband it.