Afghan Government Finally Presents New Cabinet Nominations

By Shadi Khan Saif

KABUL, Afghanistan (AA) – Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani presented on Wednesday a list of 16 new cabinet appointments to replace candidates previously rejected by parliament.

Ghani's attempts to form a government have been repeatedly delayed since he took office in September, with it initially taking 100 days to compile a list that he and power-sharing partner Abdullah Abdullah agreed on.

Many of their appointments were forced to drop out because of rules barring dual nationals from government while others were not approved by parliament.

Only eight of the 25 cabinet positions are currently being filled by Ghani and Abdullah's nominees with the rest currently being filled by interim ministers.

Ghani's deputy Sarwar Danish presented the 16-person list to the packed Wolesi Jirga -- Afghan parliament -- telling lawyers that peace and economic progress would be the government's top priorities.

There were four women named on the list which included four women, an acclaimed poet, a former governor, a leading investor and experienced technocrats.

Earlier in January, two women were chosen to run the women affairs and information and culture ministries but both were denied the slot by parliament.

There was no candidate fielded for the crucial Ministry of Defence. The initial candidate General Sheer Muhammad Karimi, the current Chief of Army Staff, was also rejected by parliament.

Afghanistan's system requires all cabinet candidates chosen by the president to be approved by the parliament.

Later this month, the newly selected designate-ministers will present their future plans and priorities to the house before facing a vote on their fate.

www.aa.com.tr/en