AlHijjah 17, 1434, October 22, 2013, SPA -- Afghanistan's election commission disqualified 16 candidates who had hoped to participate in April's presidential race, officials said Tuesday. The Afghan Independent Election Commission (IEC) said dual citizenship or the filing of improper documents were the main reasons for the eliminations. "The candidates who were disqualified have 20 days to appeal the commission's decision," Mohammad Yousuf Nooristani, the head of the IEC said. The sole female candidate, Khadija Ghaznawi, was also disqualified, according to the commission. The elimination leaves only 10 candidates in the race, which includes powerful politicians like the brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, an opposition leader, a World Bank technocrat and a jihadi strongman. -- SPA 21:51 LOCAL TIME 18:51 GMT تغريد
