List of candidates in the 2009 Afghan presidential election
Introduction Forty-four candidates were registered for the 2009 Afghan presidential election when the Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan (IEC) announced its official preliminary list of candidates on May 17, 2009.Three candidates withdrew from the race before the election took place, having thrown their support behind one of the top two contenders. Forty-one names appeared on the ballot paper for the vote, although a few more had by then announced through the media that they had dropped out.
List of presidential candidates The candidates participating in the Afghan presidential election on August 20, 2009, were:  '''Name'''  '''Preliminaryvotingresults'''  '''notes'''   Abdul Hasib Arian  2027 * A senior police official. * One of three candidates, beside incumbent Hamid Karzai, who ran for president in 2004.Abdul Jabar Sabit  2560 * Served as Afghan Attorney General in 2006. * Reported to be a former aide to renegade Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. Abdul Latif Pedram  7311 * One of three candidates, beside incumbent Hamid Karzai, who ran for president in 2004. * Leader of the National Congress Party of Afghanistan. * An ethnic Tajik. Abdul Majid Samim  998 * Withdrew from the election, and asked his supporters to vote for Hamid Karzai. Alhaj Abdul Ghafor Zori  4955  * Served as chief of finance for Nimroz Province from 1976 to 1978 and 2001–2003.Alhaj Shah Mahmood Popal  * Withdrew his candidacy prior to the election. Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai  48375  * Served as Afghan Finance Minister from 2002 to 2004.Bashir Ahmad Bizhan  1272 * Bizhan is a journalist. * Bizhan founded the Kangara Afghanistan National Party. Baz Mohammad Kofi  * Threw his support to Hamid Karzai. Bismillah Shir  2179    Dr. Abdullah Abdullah  638924 * Former Afghan Foreign Minister   Dr. Frozan Fana  8159 * One of two female candidates in the 2009 election. Dr. Ghulam Faroq Nijrabi  2240 * One of three candidates, beside incumbent Hamid Karzai, who ran for president in 2004. * An ethnic Tajik, head of Afghanistan's Independent Party. Dr. Habib Mangal  7339 * Ambassador to the Soviet Union during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. * Medical doctor. Dr. Mohammed Nasir Anis  * Withdrew his candidacy prior to the election. Engineer Moin-ul-din Ulfati  1645    Gul Ahmmad Yama  1434 * Prior to his candidacy Yama had been a scholar in literature. Haji Hasan Ali Sultani  * Withdrew his candidacy prior to the election. Hajji Rahim Jan Shinzad  3118    Hamed Karzai  940558 * President of the Afghan Interim Administration and the Afghan Transitional Administration, and then elected the first post-Taliban President in 2004.Hidayat Amin Arsala  1067 * Afghan Foreign Minister in the coalition government that preceded the Taliban. * Also served as Afghan Commerce Minister. * Has a PhD in economics from George Washington University. Mahbob-U-lah Koshani  5755 * An economist, with a Master's from Moscow University. * A co-founder of the Afghanistan Liberal Party. Mawlana Abdul Qadir İmami Ghori  * Withdrew his candidacy in early August, 2009. * He urged his supporters to vote for Sayed Jalal Karim. Mawlawi Mohammad Sayed Hashimi  * Threw his support to Hamid Karzai in lat July. Mirwais Yasini  23059 * Currently speaker of the Wolesi Jirga, the lower house of Afghan's national legislature. Mohammad Akbar Oria  1353    Mohammad Hakim Torsan  * Withdrew his candidacy prior to the election. Mohammad Hashim Tawfiqi  2406 * An economist who has served as Deputy Minister of the Afghan Ministry of Mine and Industry   Mohammad Sarwar Ahmadzai  4028    Mohammad Yasin Safi  * Withdrew his candidacy prior to the election. Motasim Billah Mazhabi  18248    Mullah Abdul Salam Rakity  8250 * Famous for shooting down a Soviet helicopter with rocket propelled grenade during the Soviet occupation. * Taliban field commander. * Elected to the National assembly. Mullah Ghulam Mohammad Rigi  2240     Nasrullah Baryalai Arsalai  * Threw his support to Dr Abdullah in mid July. Ramazan Bashardost  277404 * Formerly Afghan Planning Minister. * Law degree from Toulouse University. Sangin Mohammad Rahmani  1138    Sayed Jalal Karim  5572    Shahla Ata  4356 * One of two female candidates in the 2009 election. Shahnawaz Tanai  13512 * Formerly chief of Afghanistan's army under the Soviet-backed Republic of Afghanistan. Zabih-U-llah Ghazi Noristani  1516    Zia-ul-haq Hafizi  724
See also *Afghan Transitional Administration*Civilian casualties of the War in Afghanistan (2001–present)*Demography of Afghanistan*International public opinion on the war in Afghanistan*List of Afghan Transitional Administration personnel*War in Afghanistan (1978–present)*War in Afghanistan (2001–present)*Northern Alliance
References
External links * List of candidates in the Afghan presidential election (photos)* Islamic Republic of Afghanistan - Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) website* IEC (Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan) website* FEFA (Free & Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan)  website* United Nations Development Programme - UNDP/ELECT website* Afghan Elections Dossier, August 2009, Radio France Internationale coverage* Afghanistan's Elections coverage from ''The Washington Post''