Who can designate an answer as the best solution? Once a post is marked with a best solution can there be followups for clarification?

1) Is it the person who asks a question the only one who can mark an answer as the best answer?  Or can someone else do that? 

2) Once a Q&A thread has a best answer marked, does that signal that no more replies are allowed as follow up to that question?

The reason I ask is it looks like the answer to a question I asked was marked as best solution by someone else and although it is a good answer I have replied to the answer asking for clarification.  However I wonder if my reply will be seen and responded to if there was already a best answer designation given to the original question.