Over Half of Karzai's New Afghan Cabinet Picks Vetoed

Parliament unexpectedly threw out the majority of his first picks in a vote two weeks ago, a move hailed as positive for democracy but a setback for Afghan reconstruction after months of uncertainty caused by last year's fraud-marred election.

"This rejection does not mean Karzai lost his support in the parliament, it means we want to support good governance ... to provide a better social service for the people," Shukriya Barakzai, a member of parliament (MP), told Reuters.

But the second round of vetoes will prolong the turmoil at a time when the insurgency is worsening and after a year which saw record numbers of foreign troops and civilians killed.

In an embarrassing development, a government official said it had also emerged on Saturday that the nominee for the ministry of rural development was 31 years old, below the minimum age of 35 years set out in the constitution.

Karzai regretted the rejection of so many candidates he considered well-qualified, his office said. The United States gave a muted welcome to the confirmations, and said the rejections were an "internal matter."

"This is a government we can work with and we look forward to working with," said Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke, who is visiting the Afghan capital.

The president has been under intense pressure from western backers, and frustrated Afghans, to choose ministers deemed clean and competent and put them to work as soon as possible.

Those approved in the first round of voting were mostly welcomed by foreign diplomats.

The picks in the second round were less well-known and there was widespread unhappiness about the choice of Zarar Ahmad Muqbel, a former Interior Minister who international diplomats lobbied hard to exclude from earlier cabinets.

"When you look at this list and the previous list also, there are some qualified people who were voted out and not very qualified people who were voted in. We all know who they are," said lawmaker Daoud Sultanzoy, declining to give names.

RUSH BEFORE CONFERENCE

Karzai's spokesman said he had prepared a list of backup candidates to replace any rejected in this round of voting, and a source at one ministry said earlier that he was vetting two other prospective nominees to head it.