# List of candidates in the 2009 Afghan presidential election

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 | Preliminary voting results | notes |
| Abdul Hasib Arian | 2027 | A senior police official. One of three candidates, beside the 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 the 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 the 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 | |