Forty-four candidates were registered for the 2009 Afghan presidential election

Afghan presidential election, 2009

The 2009 presidential election in Afghanistan was characterized by lack of security, low voter turnout and widespread ballot stuffing, intimidation, and other electoral fraud....

 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	Preliminary voting results	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 Gulbuddin Hekmatyar Gulbuddin Hekmatyar is an Afghan Mujahideen leader who is the founder and leader of the Hezb-e Islami political party and paramilitary group. Hekmatyar was a rebel military commander during the 1980s Soviet war in Afghanistan and was one of the key figures in the civil war that followed the... .
	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 Abdul Majid Samim Abdul Majid Samim is a citizen of Afghanistan who was a candidate in Afghanistan's 2009 Presidential elections.He dropped out of the race on August 3, 2009, approximately two weeks before the election date....	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 1976-1978 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 Abdullah Abdullah Abdullah Abdullah is an Afghan politician and a doctor of medicine. He was an adviser and friend to Ahmad Shah Massoud, legendary anti-Taliban leader and commander known as the "Lion of Panjshir". After the fall of the Taliban regime, Dr. Abdullah served as Afghanistan's Foreign Minister from 2001...	638924	Former Afghan Foreign Minister
	Dr. Frozan Fana Frozan Fana Frozan Fana was a candidate in the Afghan presidential election, 2009.Her running mate was Mohammad Nasim Darmand.She had never held political office before...	8159	One of two female candidates in the 2009 election.
	Dr. Ghulam Faroq Nijrabi Ghulam Faroq Nijrabi Ghulam Faroq Nijrabi was a candidate in the Afghan presidential election in 2004 and the Afghan presidential elections in 2009.Nijrabi is a Physician and a lecturer at Kabul University's medical college....	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 Habib Mangal Habib Mangal is a citizen of Afghanistan who was a candidate in Afghanistan's 2009 Presidential elections.-Academic career:Mangal is a medical doctor, who also has a doctorate in Social Sciences....	7339	Ambassador to the Soviet Union Soviet Union The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....  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 Gul Ahmmad Yama Gul Ahmmad Yama is a citizen of Afghanistan who was a candidate in Afghanistan's 2009 Presidential elections.Yama is from Mazari Sharif, in Balkh Province.-Academic career:...	1434	Prior to his candidacy Yama had been a scholar in literature.
	Haji Hasan Ali Sultani		Withdrew his candidacy prior to the election.
	Hajji Hajji Hajji or El-Hajj, is an honorific title given to a Muslim person who has successfully completed the Hajj to Mecca, and is often used to refer to an elder, since it can take time to accumulate the wealth to fund the travel. The title is placed before a person's name...  Rahim Jan Shinzad	3118
	Hamed Karzai	940558	President of the Afghan Interim Administration Afghan Interim Administration The Afghan Interim Administration was the first administration of Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban regime and was the highest authority of the country from 22 December 2001 until 13 July 2003.-Background:...  and the Afghan Transitional Administration Afghan Transitional Administration The Afghan Transitional Administration was the name of a temporary administration of Afghanistan put in place by the 2002 Loya Jirga and followed the Afghan Interim Administration which was installed after the Bonn Conference.-Background:Following the US Invasion in Afghanistan, a UN sponsored... , 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 Afghan Commerce Minister Current and past governments of Afghanistan have included a Minister of Commerce in the Afghan cabinet.... . Has a PhD PHD PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...  in economics from George Washington University George Washington University The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States... .
	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 Abdul Qadir Imami Ghori Mawlana Abdul Qadir Imami Ghori is a citizen of Afghanistan, and a candidate in the 2009 Afghan Presidential elections.He was one of participants at the Bonn Conference in late 2001 that agreed that Hamid Karzai should be the leader of the Afghan Transitional Administration.He was elected to...		Withdrew his candidacy in early August, 2009. He urged his supporters to vote for Sayed Jalal Karim Sayed Jalal Karim Said Jalal Karim is a citizen of Afghanistan who was a candidate in Afghanistan's 2009 Presidential elections.-Academic career:Karim started attending Istiqlal High School in 1975, at age six, and graduated in 1977, at age eight.... .
	Mawlawi Mawlawi Mawlawi may refer to:*Mevlevi Order, a Sufi order founded in Konya*Mawlawi , an honorific Islamic title often given to Sunni Muslim Clergy...  Mohammad Sayed Hashimi		Threw his support to Hamid Karzai in lat July.
	Mirwais Yasini Mirwais Yasini Mirwais Yasini is the current First Deputy Speaker of the Lower House of the Afghan Parliament. Following the Communist coup in 1978, Mirwais Yasini worked actively to combat the Soviet invasion, and went on to oppose the Taliban from 1993 to 2001 as a social and political activist...	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 Mohammad Sarwar Ahmadzai Mohammad Sarwar Ahmadzai is a citizen of Afghanistan who was a candidate in Afghanistan's 2009 Presidential elections.-Academic career:Ahmadzai's family moved to Pakistan in 1979.He acquired education in Pakistan....	4028
	Mohammad Yasin Safi		Withdrew his candidacy prior to the election.
	Motasim Billah Mazhabi Motasim Billah Mazhabi Motasim Billah Mazhabi is a citizen of Afghanistan who was a candidate in Afghanistan's 2009 Presidential elections.-Academic career:Mutasimbillah is from a family of religious scholars, and received religious instruction from his father Maulana Mohammad Ataullah Faizani and his uncle Maulana Gul...	7841
	Mullah Mullah Mullah is generally used to refer to a Muslim man, educated in Islamic theology and sacred law. The title, given to some Islamic clergy, is derived from the Arabic word مَوْلَى mawlā , meaning "vicar", "master" and "guardian"...  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 Mullah Mullah is generally used to refer to a Muslim man, educated in Islamic theology and sacred law. The title, given to some Islamic clergy, is derived from the Arabic word مَوْلَى mawlā , meaning "vicar", "master" and "guardian"...  Ghulam Mohammad Rigi Ghulam Mohammad Rigi Ghulam Muhammad Rigi was a candidate in Afghanistan's 2009 Presidential elections.In an interview with Ferozan Rahmani of the Pajhwok Afghan News he stated that all the planks in his platform were based on Islamic law....	2240
	Nasrullah Baryalai Arsalai		Threw his support to Dr Abdullah Abdullah Abdullah Abdullah Abdullah is an Afghan politician and a doctor of medicine. He was an adviser and friend to Ahmad Shah Massoud, legendary anti-Taliban leader and commander known as the "Lion of Panjshir". After the fall of the Taliban regime, Dr. Abdullah served as Afghanistan's Foreign Minister from 2001...  in mid July.
	Ramazan Bashardost Ramazan Bashardost Ramazan Bashardost is Afghanistan's former Planning Minister, a current member of the National Assembly of Afghanistan and was an independent candidate in the Afghan presidential election, 2009.- Early years :...	277404	Formerly Afghan Planning Minister. Law degree from Toulouse University.
	Sangin Mohammad Rahmani	1138
	Sayed Jalal Karim Sayed Jalal Karim Said Jalal Karim is a citizen of Afghanistan who was a candidate in Afghanistan's 2009 Presidential elections.-Academic career:Karim started attending Istiqlal High School in 1975, at age six, and graduated in 1977, at age eight....	5572
	Shahla Ata	4356	One of two female candidates in the 2009 election.
	Shahnawaz Tanai Shahnawaz Tanai Lieutenant General Shahnawaz Tanai is a former communist general. He was chief of Afghanistan's army under the russians-backed Republic of Afghanistan...	13512	Formerly chief of Afghanistan's army under the Soviet-backed Republic of Afghanistan Republic of Afghanistan Republic of Afghanistan was the official state government of Mohammed Daoud Khan from 1973 to 1978. Daoud Khan became Afghanistan's first President in 1973 after he deposed Mohammad Zahir Shah in a non-violent coup... .
	Zabih-U-llah Ghazi Noristani Zabih-U-llah Ghazi Noristani Zabih-U-llah Ghazi Noristani is a citizen of Afghanistan who was a candidate in Afghanistan's 2009 Presidential elections.-Academic career:He completed his secondary education was at the Rahman Baba High School of Kabul in 1970....	1516
	Zia-ul-haq Hafizi	724

See also

• Civil war in Afghanistan
  Civil war in Afghanistan
  The Afghan civil war began when the communist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan took power in a military coup, known as the Saur Revolution, on 27 April 1978. Most of Afghanistan subsequently experienced uprisings against the unpopular Marxist-Leninist PDPA government. The Soviet Union...
  
  
• Demography of Afghanistan
  Demography of Afghanistan
  The population of Afghanistan is around 29,835,392 as of the year 2011, which is unclear if the refugees living outside the country are included or not. The nation is composed of a multi-ethnic and multi-lingual society, reflecting its location astride historic trade and invasion routes between...
  
  
• Northern Alliance
  United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan
  The United Islamic Front , known in the West and Pakistan as the Northern Alliance, was a military-political umbrella organization created by the Islamic State of Afghanistan in 1996 under the leadership of Defense Minister Ahmad Shah Massoud...
  
  
• Taliban
• War in Afghanistan (2001-present)
• Civilian casualties of the War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
• Afghan Transitional Administration
  Afghan Transitional Administration
  The Afghan Transitional Administration was the name of a temporary administration of Afghanistan put in place by the 2002 Loya Jirga and followed the Afghan Interim Administration which was installed after the Bonn Conference.-Background:Following the US Invasion in Afghanistan, a UN sponsored...
  
  
• List of Afghan Transitional Administration personnel
• International public opinion on the war in Afghanistan
  International public opinion on the war in Afghanistan
  International public opinion is largely opposed to the war in Afghanistan. A 47-nation global survey of public opinion conducted in June 2007 by the Pew Global Attitudes Project found considerable opposition to the U.S. and NATO military operations in Afghanistan...
  
  

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
  The Washington Post
  The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...