Afghan President Hamid Karzai suffered a new blow to his authority when parliament rejected most of his nominees for a new Cabinet, including the only woman and a warlord.
Only seven out of 24 nominees were approved by more than 200 lawmakers in a secret ballot on Saturday, throwing Afghanistan into new political uncertainty just weeks ahead of an international conference on the war-ravaged country.
“Of the 24 nominees introduced to parliament, seven have succeeded in getting your vote of confidence,” parliamentary speaker Mohammad Yunus Qanoni said after counting ended.
Karzai’s Cabinet list was seen by his Western backers as a test of his commitment to building a clean and accountable government and eradicating the corruption that blights Afghanistan and helps fuel the Taliban insurgency.
US and NATO countries fighting the Taliban have made it clear that the billions of dollars in military and development assistance they pour into Afghanistan now depend on concrete action against corruption.
Those voted down included warlord Ismail Khan, nominated for the post of water and energy minister, widely seen as a reward for supporting Karzai during the fraud-tainted August presidential election that returned him to power.
Also rejected was the only woman nominated to a Cabinet post, incumbent women’s affairs minister Husn Banu Ghazanfar, who lost out by two votes.
Karzai has long relied on warlords to prop up his fragile government, but aides say he has recognized the need to appease the West to stay in power and bring some momentum to the development of his poverty-stricken country.
He had been hoping to finalize his Cabinet before an international conference in London on Jan. 28 to discuss the future of the country.
The position of foreign minister, the 25th Cabinet post, will not be filled until after the conference, which will be attended by outgoing incumbent Rangin Dadfar Spanta, parliamentary spokesman Hasib Noori said.
Those approved were the choices for defense, agriculture, interior, finance, education, culture, and mines and industries, mostly people backed by Karzai’s Western supporters as competent and clean technocrats.
Under the Constitution, rejected nominees cannot be tapped again for the same post, Noori said, adding that parliament will begin a 45-day winter recess tomorrow, leaving little time for Karzai to submit a new line-up.
Kabul University law professor Nasrullah Stanikzai said the high number of rejections showed that Karzai had not thoroughly considered his list before presenting it to parliament last month.
“The high rate of rejections will have a negative effect on those ministries which are without leadership and policy in the lead-up to the London conference,” Stanikzai said.
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