A Who"s Who of Minor Candidates in Afghanistan"s 2009 Presidential Election
For a complete analysis of Afghanistan's 2009 presidential election, and its major candidates, read the main article on Afghanistan's 2009 election. Below are the additional, minor candidates running in the contest:
- Abd al-Salam Rocketi ("Mullah Rocketi"): A Pashtun, reconciled Taliban figure, member of the lower house of parliament. May do unexpectedly well if Taliban sympathizers participate, but some believe he might drop out later and endorse Karzai.
- Hedayat Amin Arsala: A Pashtun, was a Vice President during 2001-2004. He is a prominent economist and perceived as close to the former royal family.
- Abd al Jabbar Sabit: A Pashtun, was fired by Karzai in 2007 for considering run against Karzai in the election.
- Shahnawaz Tanai: A Pashtun, he served as Defense Minister in the Communist government of Najibullah (which was left in place after the Soviets withdrew in 1989) but led failed coup against Najibullah in April 1990.
- Mirwais Yasini. Another strong Pashtun candidate. 48-year-old deputy speaker of the lower house of parliament but also without well known non-Pashtun running mates.
- Haj Nasrullah Baryalai. Pashtun tribal leader from Jalalabad. Some say he is a candidate to watch, although he attracts little attention outside Afghanistan.
- Ramazan Bashardost. A Hazara, mentioned above, running on platform of anti-corruption and improving government services.
- Frozan Fana and Shahla Ata. The two women candidates in the race. Fana is the wife of the first post-Taliban aviation minister who was killed during an altercation at Kabul airport in 2002. These two candidates are widely given almost no chance of winning.
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