Lawmakers in Afghanistan’s house of representatives on Thursday suggested the government introduce four new candidates to fill the cabinet vacancies as soon as possible.
The Afghan parliament on Wednesday approved three ministers and rejected two ministerial nominees--for Ministry of Education and Rural Rehabilitation and Development-- and it also did not confirm the head of the Central Bank.
MPs said that based on the law, the government can’t pick those rejected by the parliament to work as 'caretakers' or as acting ministers or acting officials.
In Wednesday’s session, 242 out of 248 lawmakers were present and each nominee needed 122 votes to be approved.
Ahmad Jawad Osmani was approved as minister of Public Health with 145 votes in favor, Mohibullah Samim as minister of Borders and Tribal Affairs with 209 votes, and Karima Hamid Faryabi as minister of Economy with 136 votes.
The MPs voted out Rangina Hamidi as minister of Education, with 114 votes in favor, Mujib Rahman Karimi as minister of Rural Rehabilitation and Development, with 118 votes in favor, and Ajmal Ahmadi, head of the Central Bank, who received 72 votes in favor.
On Monday, the MPs approved six ministers and the chief of the National Directorate of Security (NDS) and voted against the confirmation of the nominees for the Ministry of Women's Affairs and Ministry of Information and Culture.
The MPs on Monday approved Ahmad Zia Saraj as the head of the NDS, Haroon Chakhansuri as minister of Mines and Petroleum, Anwar ul-Haq Ahadi as minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, Noor Rahman Akhlaqi as minister of Refugees and Repatriation, Qudratullah Zaki as minister of Transport and Civil Aviation, Mahmud Karzai as minister of Urban Development and Housing and Najibullah Yamin as minister of Public Works.
Tahir Zuhair, the nominee for the Ministry of Information and Culture and Hasina Safi, nominee for the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, were rejected.
On Wednesday, the parliament speaker Mir Rahman Rahmani asked President Ashraf Ghani to introduce two new nominees for the rejected ministries.
“Afghanistan’s law says that we can't keep the ministers to work as caretakers, therefore, we call on the Afghan government to respect the Constitution to introduce other candidates in their place,” said Abbas Ibrahimzada, a lawmaker.
“The house expects the president to introduce his ministers as soon as possible for a vote of confidence; 'caretaker culture' is no longer acceptable for the house,” said MP Ibrahim Akbari.