The leading presidential candidates in Afghanistan’s upcoming August 20 election are briefly profiled in a chart prepared by the DNI Open Source Center.  See “Afghan Presidential Election: Potential Candidates and Powerbrokers” (pdf), May 4, 2009.

Further background on elections in the region may be found in “Middle East Elections 2009: Lebanon, Iran, Afghanistan, and Iraq” (pdf), Congressional Research Service, May 18, 2009.  (Elections in Lebanon took place on June 7.)