Afghan President Hamid Karzai is going to face another serious defeat this weekend, as members of the nation’s parliament predict that his second list of potential cabinet members is going to be largely rejected.
“I am sitting with at least 25 members of parliament right now and we are talking about the cabinet. Our expectation is that we will see maybe five or six at most who will pass,” MP Daoud Sultanzoy warned.
Karzai’s first list of 24 cabinet members was slapped down in early January, with only 7 being approved in a shocking assertion of parliamentary independence. If five or six more are approved, it will still leave Karzai with about half of his cabinet unfilled, and less than two weeks remaining until the London Conference.
The president has been feverishly trying to get a cabinet in place before London, ordering parliament not to recess until it could vote on the current list. Karzai’s ability to seek money for projects will likely be seriously weakened if he can’t point to who will be responsible for the ministries overseeing those projects.
Karzai’s first cabinet list was criticized for including corrupt incumbents and warlords, while the second cabinet list was said to include a large number of political unknowns whose only qualifications were a degree and a history of loyalty to Karzai politically.