The Afghan parliament has turned down 17 out of President Hamid Karzai's 24 nominees for his new cabinet.
Energy minister nominee Ismail Khan, a former warlord, was among the rejected.
Nominees for justice, health, commerce, economy and women's affairs were among others rejected, but Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak was re-appointed.
Mr Karzai has been under pressure from Western allies to name a cabinet committed to tackling corruption, after his controversial re-election.
Correspondents say parliament's rejection of so many nominees shows the depth of the political challenge he now faces.
Held to account
Women's Affairs Minister Husn Bano Ghazanfar - the only female in the cabinet - also failed to win approval in Saturday's secret ballot of more than 200 MPs.
But along with the defence minister, Interior Minister Hanif Atmar was another key name whose nomination was confirmed.
The vote is one of the few occasions when parliamentarians have genuine power to hold the executive to account, say analysts.
Among the most well-known names to be rejected was Mr Khan, a Soviet-era guerrilla leader and anti-Taliban commander who was also energy minister in the last cabinet.
Accused of human rights abuses and corruption, he is also unpopular with some because of his role as a warlord in western Herat province during Afghanistan's civil war.
No-one has been nominated foreign minister so far and the post is not expected to be filled until a conference on Afghanistan in London later this month.
"Of the 24 nominees introduced to parliament, seven have succeeded in getting your vote of confidence," parliamentary speaker Mohammad Yunus Qanoni said, after the counting had finished, reports AFP news agency.
Mr Karzai presented his new cabinet to parliament two weeks ago.
Western officials have repeatedly emphasised that tackling corruption in President Karzai's administration is key to stabilising the country.
President Barack Obama announced last month he would send 30,000 new US troops to Afghanistan, with a view to beating the Taliban.
Nato countries have followed up by pledging another 7,000 troops so far.
Mr Obama said he wants to begin handing over to Afghan security forces by mid-2011.
President Karzai was returned for a second five-year term after last August's election, despite investigators discovering more than a quarter of votes were fraudulent.
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