Kabul, Afghanistan ? With the president elected, the Afghan grand council closes in two days and delegates by Saturday had failed to even begin formal discussion on naming a legislature or choosing a new Cabinet.

Since the election Thursday of Hamid Karzai as president, deliberations among the 1,650 delegates meeting under a giant white tent in the middle of the Afghan capital have been animated and at times rancorous. There have been charges of intimidation and harassment.

Since electing Hamid Karzai, above, as president of Afghanistan, delegates to the loya jirga (or grand council) have come grinding to a standstill on their other business, including naming a Cabinet and electing a legislature to rule the country.

The two days after the election were consumed with delegates delivering speeches about their concerns. The council, or loya jirga, was extended Saturday by one day until Monday in hopes it can make key decisions on the legislature. There are indications that the loya jirga will not decide on key Cabinet posts.

“They are trying to waste our time asking the delegates to come up and present their needs,” complained delegate Omar Zakhilwal. “There has been no discussion on a Cabinet, no discussion on a government.”

Karzai took the stage briefly Saturday to tell delegates that each province must choose two representatives to the legislature. The body’s exact size remains unclear, but there has been talk of as many as 160 members.

It also was not clear whether the representatives would be selected by secret ballot, show of hands or just by consensus.

One international monitor, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that in the end, the delegates would probably rubber-stamp the choices of provincial governors, fearing reprisals from the powerful local bosses. The governors were added as delegates to the loya jirga at the last minute.

Another international monitor, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said some delegates agreed to participate in the loya jirga after receiving assurances that governors would not attend the sessions nor take reprisals for what was said here.

The presence of the provincial governors, some of whom got their posts because they had more gunmen than their rivals, has not gone down well with some delegates, who have complained of intimidation.

Zakhilwal said intelligence officials in plain clothes were present during the deliberations. One of the international monitors said an intelligence official who was also works for the state-run Afghan Television was taking close-up shots of delegates who spoke at the microphone, recording their faces and their comments.