Afghan parliament starts vote on Karzai cabinet nominees

“All 24 ministers will be voted for today,” he said.

“The result is expected to be announced after finishing the counting by six o’clock today,then the cabinet will be approved today.”

The position of foreign minister,the 25th cabinet post,will not be filled until after the London conference set for January 28,which will be attended by outgoing incumbent Rangin Dadfar Spanta,he said.

The timetable for swearing-in the new cabinet is up to the president,a spokesman said,but he could give no indication of when that might be.

Karzai was announced the winner of an August presidential election,which was later proved to have been riddled with corruption. He was inaugurated in November.

The political vacuum following the poll has dragged on for more than four months,amid pressure from the international community to ensure ministers are competent and as clean as possible,given Afghanistan’s prevailing corruption.