KABUL: Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai will face the first test of his commitment to clean, accountable government Saturday when he presents his nominees for cabinet posts to parliament for approval.

Karzai is expected to retain some key figures when he submits a list of 24 names -- of a total of 25 cabinet posts, a presidential palace official said.

The choices are being seen as a gauge of how serious Karzai is about bowing to the demands of his backers in the international community, after he won a second five-year term in an August election marred by astonishing levels of fraud.

Nominees are expected to include the current ministers of defence, interior, finance, health and education -- all of whom have the seal of approval from Karzai's Western supporters, said an official in Karzai's office.

The foreign minister is yet to be decided, he said, and the social affairs post has been filled but the nominee was not known.

Karzai's ministerial nominees must win the approval of parliamentarians in an arduous process that could take days to complete, with each nominee making a speech to justify their appointment.

They must also answer questions from MPs about how they intend to do their job, and then face a ballot of MPs for their approval.

There are few surprises in Karzai's choices, though two of the warlords who have been a feature of his tenure are in line for senior posts, the palace official said.

The energy and urban development portfolios have been given to Ismail Khan and Gul Agha Shairzai respectively, both influential warlords whose support Karzai has long relied on.

The country's most notorious warlords, however, Abdul Rashid Dostum and Mohammad Mohaqiq -- leaders of two minority ethnic groups who supported Karzai in the election and were expected to be rewarded with high office -- have not been nominated to ministerial posts, the official said.

Nevertheless, a Western military source said, they are likely to receive lower profile but still influential rewards for delivering votes to Karzai, possibly with positions at provincial level for their own nominees.

The official said Karzai had nominated 11 current ministers to remain in their jobs, including Interior Minister Mohammad Hanif Atmar, Agriculture Minister Mohammad Asif Rahimi and Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak, all of whom are well regarded by the international community.

Also staying put are Public Health Minister Sayed Mohammad Amin Fatimi and Farooq Wardak, Education Minister, who have also won plaudits from American, British and other officials as competent and clean technocrats.

Four ministers are either being reshuffled or are returning to the cabinet after serving in other senior government posts, while eight are new.

As one of the poorest countries in the world, Afghanistan has few assets that are not owned by the government, making public office a potentially lucrative reward for those who support the president.

Karzai has come under intense pressure since winning a second five-year term in elections marred by massive fraud, with around a quarter of all ballots deemed fake, most of them in his favour.

Leaders of the United States, Britain and NATO countries with more than 100,000 troops in the country fighting a Taliban-led insurgency have made clear their support depends on Karzai cleaning up the corruption that infects every level of Afghan life.

While Karzai's government would "not last 24 hours" without the presence of international troops, a regional diplomat said, he faces pincer-like pressure as he also needs the support of figures regarded as warlords, drug barons or rights abusers.

The Western military official said choosing his cabinet had been "an agonising process" for Karzai because of favours owed to supporters such as Dostum who are not acceptable to the United States or other supporters.

"He is facing a lot of trouble because of who he has left out, and there has been a lot of shouting.

"But he still has two warlords in there, and the vice president is the biggest of them all," he said, referring to Mohammad Qasim Fahim, who has been implicated in a wide range of crimes and rights abuses.