**The Afghan parliament is voting on President Hamid Karzai’s second list of cabinet nominees two weeks after rejecting most of his first choices.**This time 17 new nominees - 14 men and three women - are up for consideration.
Correspondents say concerns remain over some of the candidates and it is unlikely they will all be approved.
After the first vote, Mr Karzai ordered MPs to cancel their winter break to speed up progress towards getting a functioning government in place.
The rejection of 17 of Mr Karzai’s 24 original choices was seen as a blow to his authority, already damaged after an election marred by fraud in August.
The new list includes none of the previously rejected nominees.
MPs have spent the last week questioning the new candidates on their suitability for the posts and Saturday’s vote - by secret ballot - is expected to take most of Saturday.
Zalmay Rasul, Mr Karzai’s security adviser, is up for the job of foreign minister.
Mr Karzai faces strong international pressure to create a government that can oversee reforms.
The UN has said international funding for Afghanistan’s parliamentary elections this year will depend on reform of the country’s election institutions.