KABUL - Lawmakers on Saturday cried foul and accused government of violating the Constitution after allowing four nominated ministers and the nominated head of the Central Bank to continue in acting ministerial positions despite having lost their votes of confidence in parliament.
MPs in the Wolesi Jirga (Lower House of Parliament) said government’s failure to remove the acting ministers was illegal and that it was obliged to nominate new ministers so as to legitimize the cabinet.
The MPs called on President Ashraf Ghani to remove the acting ministers and resolve the issue.
They said government has previously violated the law as it has in the past also failed to nominate new ministers for parliament to approve.
Last month, the four nominees that were vetoed by parliament were the acting ministers for education, rural development, information and culture, and women’s affairs, and the head of the central bank.
“Any function of the candidates are against the law, and the parliament has repeatedly called for new faces, but the president does not respect the law and does not fulfill his legal responsibilities to nominate new ministers, and the new minister must be nominated to parliament, to legislate the cabinet,” said Nazir Ahmad Hanafi, a parliament member.
“The government must fulfill its legal obligations and introduce new faces instead of the candidates for ministers who have been rejected by this parliament, so that we can legislate the government,” said Sharifi Balkhabi, another parliament member.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs says it is working on the issue and plans to nominate candidates for the ministries before MPs break for their winter recess.
“The government is determined to nominate new ministers before the winter break, in the House of Representatives, to complete the cabinet,” said Sayed Ali Kazimi, deputy at the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs. (ATN)