The economist and the eye doctor: The Afghan presidential hopefuls – World

A former World Bank economist, an ophthalmologist, a spy chief and a former leader are among the 15 candidates competing for the presidency while Afghanistan heads to the polls this Saturday.

Eighteen candidates are expected to appear on the official ballot, although three withdrew and authorities say there is not enough time to update the ballots.

The pre-survey period has been chaotic, with few campaigns and large sectors of the country unable to vote due to threats from the Taliban.

Here is a summary of the main candidates:

The owner

President Ashraf Ghani has been described as visionary, cranky, academic and overly demanding.

The former minister of economy and finance of the WB has long cultivated dreams of rebuilding Afghanistan, and firmly believes that he is one of the few people, perhaps the only one, capable of taking responsibility.

Despite the lack of credible surveys, he is widely perceived as the general favorite, although little progress has been made against the Taliban or deep-seated government corruption.

And despite the fact that Ghani has made repeated proposals to the Taliban for peace, they continue to dismiss him as a "puppet" controlled by the United States, while the Americans stopped him from conversations now suspended with the militants.

If he is re-elected, Ghani will receive a mandate in any future peace process led by the Afghans with the Taliban, should they ever agree to such negotiations.

If the conversation fails, Ghani has promised in the past to fight the militants "for generations" if necessary.

The doctor

Former ophthalmologist and resistance fighter Abdullah Abdullah is again about to become the president of Afghanistan after being defeated in two previous elections, both marred by widespread accusations of fraud.

Abdullah, once an ophthalmologist in Kabul, was a member of the Burhanuddin Rabbani government during the civil war in Afghanistan in 1992-1996, and made a name abroad for his fluent and refined English.

His formative political experience was like the right hand of Ahmad Shah Massoud, the famous Tajik commander who led the resistance to the Soviet occupation in the 1980s and the Taliban regime 1996-2001, only to be killed by al Qaeda two days before September 11 attacks.

Both Abdullah and Ghani ran in 2014, and both claimed they had won.

To avoid a full-fledged conflict, the then US secretary of state. The US, John Kerry, negotiated an agreement to share power between the two who left Abdullah as the country's executive director.

Abdullah has been in an endless tug of war with Ghani since then, with tough internal struggles in his administration that prevent major attempts at reforms and legislation, while the two avoid public appearances together due to deep-seated enmity.

If he is finally elected, Abdullah is committed to prioritizing peace along with vague promises to improve the economy.

The Kabul Butcher

Gulbuddin Hekmatyar has lived many lives in a career forged in the melting pot of Afghanistan's war decades. Widely regarded as one of the most notorious warlords in the bloody history of Afghanistan, he has also been an anti-Soviet commander, prime minister and now presidential contender.

He was accused of killing thousands during the civil war of 1992-1996 and earned the nickname "the butcher of Kabul" for his brutal bombing of the capital.

After the US-led invasion in 2001, Washington appointed him a terrorist and accused him of colluding with al Qaeda and Taliban militants.

Hekmatyar made a surprising re-entry into the mainstream politics in 2017 after a peace agreement between his inactive militant group Hezb-i-Islami and Ghani.

If elected, Hekmatyar has promised to oversee the withdrawal of all foreign troops from Afghanistan once and for all.

The lion's brother

Ahmad Wali Massoud hopes to capitalize on the fame of his famous older brother Ahmad Shah Massoud, the so-called "Lion of Panjshir," who worked so closely with Abdullah.

Apart from a period as an Afghan ambassador to the United Kingdom, Massoud has little political experience and has largely spent the last two decades as his brother's guardian, running a foundation on his behalf.

But it is still popular among the Tajik ethnic group in the country, especially the power brokers in its home province of Panjshir that has enjoyed an important role in the government since 2001.

However, it is believed that Massoud has little chance of winning and, at best, can expect an appointment in any future government.

Aspirants

The other 12 candidates cover a wide range of personalities, including former communists and a spy chief.

Rahmatullah Nabil expects his security credentials to court voters after serving twice as head of the Afghan intelligence agency.

And former member of the communist party Nur ul-Haq Ulumi, who also briefly served as interior minister in 2015, is in the race but has little chance of making waves.