Lawmakers in the parliament on Monday approved 11 out of 12 cabinet ministers and rejected the appointment of Nargis Nehan, the female nominee for the Ministry of Mines.
After the vote, MPs called on the government to introduce a new candidate to fill the resulting vacancy.
MPs approved Tariq Shah Bahrami as the Minister of Defence and Wais Ahmad Barack as the Minister of the Interior. Bahrami received 141 confidence votes while Barmak secured 173 votes out 244 votes.
Parliament confirmed the following new ministers:
· Yama Yari, the nominee for Ministry of Public Works with 156 confidence votes;
· Faizullah Zaki, the nominee for Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs with 126;
· Najibullah Khwaja Omari, the nominee for the Ministry Higher Education with 124;
· Hamidullah Tahmasi, the nominee for the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation with 149;
· Mujib Rahman Karimi, nominee for the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) with 129;
· Nasir Ahmad Durani, nominee for the Ministry of Agriculture with 144 confidence votes;
· Gul Aqa Shirzai nominee for the Ministry of Border and Tribal Affairs with 158 confidence votes;
· Mohammad Mustafa Mastoor, the nominee for the Ministry of Economic Affairs with 155; and
· Shahzadgul Aryobi the nominee for the Ministry of Information and Technology 115 confidence votes.
The only female, Nargis Nihan, the nominee for the Ministry of Mines, was been rejected by MPs after not receiving enough votes. She received 107 confidence votes, 93 no-votes, and 15 abstentions were recorded.
Nihan needed 113 confidence votes to secure the ministry of mines and petroleum.
At the end of the voting process, the House Speaker Abdul Raouf Ibrahimi called on the government to introduce the remaining nominees of the cabinet.
The voting for each candidate proceeded as follows:
Bahrami: 141 approvals, 65 disapprovals, 9 abstentions, 9 invalid
Barmak:173 approvals, 35 disapprovals, 10 abstentions, 6 invalid
Omari:124 approvals, 77 disapprovals, 13 abstentions, 10 invalid
Zaki: 126 approvals, 75 disapprovals, 9 abstentions, 13 invalid
Yari: 156 approvals, 46 disapprovals, 17 abstentions, 5 invalid
Karimi: 129 approvals: 76 disapprovals, 9 abstentions, 10 invalid
Sherzai: 158 approvals, 49 disapprovals, 12 abstentions, 5 invalid
Mastoor: 155 approvals, 49 disapprovals, 10 abstentions, 9 invalid
Aryoubi: 115 approvals, 49 disapprovals, 10 abstentions, 9 invalid
Tahmasi: 149 approvals, 55 disapprovals, 11 empty, 9 invalid
Durrani: 144 approvals, 63 disapprovals, 9 abstentions, 8 invalid
Nihan: 107 approvals, 93 disapprovals, 15 abstentions, 8 invalid