Ex-Taliban join Afghanistan presidency race

KABUL (AFP) - An internationally respected academic and a veteran of the ousted Taliban regime entered Afghanistans race for the presidency on Thursday, signing up to contest the landmark August election.
The deadline for candidates to register closes on Friday. The Independent Election Commission then has a week to vet applications with 24 received so far before announcing the final list of contenders to run the country.
Former university chancellor, finance minister and World Bank executive Ashraf Ghani pledged total and fundamental change as he registered. If you want a new beginning, we are at your service, he told reporters.
Ghani, 60, puts up one of the strongest challenges to incumbent President Hamid Karzai, who dismayed the United Nations this week by signing up to run with notorious warlord Mohammad Qasim Fahim in the August 20 ballot. Ghani vowed to work for peace and security, national sovereignty, the correction of the financial system and strengthening national unity.
Former Taliban commander Abdul Salam Rocketi also submitted his application on Thursday, election officials said.
Rocketi, apparently named for his rocket skills during the resistance against Soviet occupation in the 1980s, was a member of the Talibans 1996-2001 regime and spent two years in jail after the government collapsed.
On his release, he renounced the Taliban and was elected to parliament in 2005.
Of 24 applications submitted to the commission by Thursday, two are from women, election officials said.
All candidates will be vetted to ensure they comply with regulations, such as being Afghan citizens only, Muslims and at least 40 years old.
Convictions, including for crimes against humanity, are grounds for exclusion.
After the list of candidates is published, there will be a two-week period allowing for public reaction.
The August vote will be only the second presidential election in Afghanistans turbulent history of coups and war.
The ballot is seen as an important test of Western-bankrolled efforts to install democracy and steer the fragile nation away from the lawlessness and fundamentalism that fostered the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.
Among those to throw their hats into the ring are former foreign minister and prominent Soviet-era resistance hero Abdullah Abdullah another strong candidate although Karzai is seen as the favourite.
Others include communist-era defence minister Shahnawaz Tanai, who led a failed coup in 1990 and is said to have close ties to Pakistan, deputy speaker of parliament Mirwais Yasini and former attorney general Abdul Jabar Sabet.
Around 1,575 people, including 178 women, have so far registered to compete for 420 seats on provincial councils at the same time as the presidential poll, election officials said.
A quarter of these seats are reserved for women.
Countries contributing to a NATO-led military force assisting the growing Afghan forces have pledged thousands of extra troops to protect the polls against attacks from Taliban insurgents, who have called Afghans to boycott.