Karzai Drops Rejected Nominees from Second Afghan Cabinet

Afghan President Hamid Karzai sought Parliament’s approval for his new cabinet a second time today, dropping all those whose nominations were defeated by lawmakers in the first attempt a week ago.

Karzai had ordered Parliament to cancel its winter recess so it could consider the new list of ministers and end a political vacuum at the heart of government ahead of a conference on Afghanistan later this month. President Barack Obama decided in December to send a further 30,000 U.S. troops to the country to fight Taliban insurgents.

“I request that all the lawmakers think about the national interest of the country, the current situation of the country and the desires of the Afghan people and make a good decision,” Second Vice President Karim Khalili said as he read the names to Parliament.

Sixteen people were put forward today, including three women. Of those, 15 are to replace cabinet nominees rejected on Jan. 2, and one is new foreign minister-designate Zalmay Rasul, previously Karzai’s national security adviser.

Karzai didn’t indicate a replacement for Ismail Khan, a former warlord from the western Herat province and the minister of water and energy, who was earlier rejected by lawmakers. No name was submitted for the post of telecommunications minister.

Karzai, under pressure from the U.S. to reduce corruption, had already decided to keep in office the incumbent ministers of defense, interior and finance, all favored in foreign capitals.

Fraud-Hit Vote

While those three appointments were ratified by the lower house of parliament on Jan. 2, legislators rejected 17 of his 24 picks believing them either to be political cronies, under the influence of warlords or otherwise unqualified.

Most of those on today’s list “have been nominated by Karzai’s political allies,” Mahmoud Saikal, an analyst and former deputy foreign minister, said in an interview in Kabul. Parliament may again reject the nominations as many will be unable to run ministries effectively, Saikal said.

Karzai was re-elected for a second term in an August poll marred by allegations of fraud, damaging his credibility at home and overseas. His cabinet selections are being scrutinized as an early test of Karzai’s commitment to attack official corruption, as President Barack Obama has demanded that he do.

London Conference

If approved by lawmakers, Rasul is likely to play a key role at a Jan. 28 London conference on Afghanistan attended by multilateral lenders, Afghanistan’s neighbors and nations with troops among international forces based in the country.

Parliament is expected to vote on the cabinet lineup announced today within a week.

While Karzai was “unhappy” over parliament’s rejection of his initial choices, “he respects the democratic process” Waheed Omar, a spokesman for the president, told reporters on Jan. 2.

Karzai excluded Mines Minister Ibrahim Adel, the top official most prominently accused of graft, from his first list of nominees. Afghanistan is second only to Somalia as the most corrupt of 180 countries, according to the Corruption Perceptions Index published in November by the research and lobby group Transparency International.

The Washington Post and the Associated Press in November cited unidentified U.S. officials as accusing Adel of taking a bribe of at least $20 million from the Metallurgical Corp. of China for awarding it a contract to develop one of the world’s largest copper mines. Adel denies the allegation.

Obama Threat

Obama last month threatened to cut U.S. aid to parts of the Afghan government that fail to root out corrupt officials, saying graft undermines the U.S.-led fight against the Taliban and al-Qaeda.

Karzai and his attorney general, Mohammad Ishaq Aloko, have vowed to prosecute top officials for graft, and Aloko said in December those to be charged include two members of the outgoing cabinet.