VZCZCXRO7780
PP RUEHDBU RUEHPW
DE RUEHBUL #1174/01 1261420
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 061420Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8787
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES PRIORITY 0033

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 001174 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM AF
SUBJECT: ABDULLAH REGISTERS FOR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION 
 
REF: KABUL 1131 
 
¶1. (SBU)  SUMMARY.  Former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah 
registered his campaign for the presidential election today 
(May 6), signing up with two relatively unknown running mates 
) evidence that he had failed to attract support outside the 
splintering United Front opposition coalition.  Abdullah 
joined a handful of other challengers in registering on the 
antepenultimate day of the registration period, bringing the 
total field to at least nine candidates including President 
Karzai (reftel).  Aides to most other major potential 
candidates promised their campaigns would register before the 
May 8 deadline.  End Summary. 
 
Abdullah Signs Up 
---------- 
 
¶2. (SBU)  Abdullah joined the race today after extensive 
negotiations with other opposition leaders and possible 
running mates broke down.  At various points, Abdullah 
appeared close to signing pacts with Hazara leader Haji 
Mohammed Mohaqqeq, Junbesh leader Sayed Noorullah, and a 
number of second-tier Pashtun politicians.  In the end, all 
the deals fell through.  Likewise, Abdullah was unable to 
convince potential candidates Ashraf Ghani, Anwarulhaq Ahadi, 
Ali Ahmed Jalali, and Mirwais Yaseni to merge their campaigns 
with Abdullah at the top of a unity ticket.  Several 
political observers believe a growing lack of confidence in 
Abdullah's ability to win cost him potential allies, many of 
which have re-opened dialogues with Karzai's campaign.  Other 
politicians told PolOff Abdullah's association with the 
United Front had been a major barrier to attract support from 
outside groups.  Lower House MP Fazel Karim Aimaq, an 
occasional member of the UF's central committee, pronounced 
the UF "dead" upon news of Abdullah's underwhelming slate and 
predicted several UF members would defect to other campaigns 
rather than associate with Abdullah's candidacy. 
 
¶3. (SBU)  Abdullah's choices for running mates came as a 
surprise, both for their relative obscurity and because 
neither name had surfaced among the dozens of rumored 
candidates before today.  Abdullah chose Humayoun Shah Asifi 
to be his first vice presidential running mate.  Asifi, a 
Pashtun, is an in-law of late king Zahir Shah.  Asifi ran for 
president in 2004 and received 0.3 percent of the vote. 
Kidnappers took Asifi hostage for several weeks last year 
before Afghan security forces freed him.  Former Kabul 
University Chancellor Cheragh Ali Cheragh, a Hazara, is 
Abdullah's choice for second vice president.  One Embassy 
local employee reported that Kabul University students 
heavily disliked Cheragh during his tenure as chancellor for 
his ill temper and apparent bias toward Hazaras. 
 
Minor Candidates Also Join the Race 
---------- 
 
¶4. (SBU)  In addition to Karzai and Abdullah, at least seven 
other candidates have now registered:  former Attorney 
General Abdul Jabar Sabet, Turkmen leader Akbar Bai, former 
communist Shanawaz Tanai, Lower House MP Shahla Atta, 
businessman Besmullah Sher, former Najibullah-era Deputy 
Prime Minister Mahboobullah Koshani, and Dr. Ferozan Fana. 
Atta and Fana became the first female candidates to register. 
 Atta holds American citizenship, but had not visited the 
Embassy to renounce her citizenship prior to registering. 
 
Remaining Campaigns Still Waiting 
---------- 
 
¶5. (SBU)  An aide to Lower House Deputy Speaker Mirwais 
Yaseni (Nangarhar, Pashtun) said his campaign would finalize 
Yaseni's ticket before Thursday afternoon.  Yaseni has 
selected Lower House MP Abdul Qayum Sajaddi (Ghazni, Hazara) 
as one vice presidential running mate, but was still looking 
for a Tajik or Uzbek to round out the slate.  Yaseni and 
other unregistered candidates were waiting to see whether 
outrage over Karzai's decision to tap Marshall Fahim as his 
running mate would spark a last-minute motivation for 
opposition groups to merge their campaigns. 
 
¶6. (SBU)  Former Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani issued a 
statement denying rumors he had pulled out of the race and 
vowed his campaign would continue.  Ghani said he had 
rejected appeals from Karzai and Cabinet ministers to join 
the government, criticizing the Karzai administration for 
being rife with corruption and lacking a coherent strategy. 
 
¶7. (SBU)  Several Afghan Millat party members have hinted 
former Finance Minister and party chairman Anwarulhaq Ahadi 
is ready to end his campaign.  Pir Gailani, Ahadi's 
father-in-law and a Karzai supporter, has apparently 
 
KABUL 00001174  002 OF 002 
 
 
persuaded Ahadi to drop his bid and support the government. 
At least one Afghan Millat MP was hopeful that Ahadi's 
potential withdrawal would come without an endorsement for 
Karzai, freeing the party to endorse another campaign. 
RICCIARDONE