KABUL -- Afghanistan's former finance minister, Ashraf Ghani, has announced he will run for president, becoming the first big name to declare his candidacy.
Ghani announced on his Twitter account on September 30 that he plans to contest the April 2014 election to succeed Hamid Karzai.
Ghani is a Pashtun, Afghanistan's largest ethnic group. He spent some time at U.S. universities before joining the World Bank and serving as Afghan finance minister from 2002 to 2004.
He resigned on September 29 as chairman of the Transition Coordination Committee, which oversees Afghanistan's return to full sovereignty after the U.S.-led ousting of the Taliban regime in 2001.
Ghani has sought the country's highest office in the past. He collected less than 3 percent of the vote in the 2009 presidential election.
Ghani announced on his Twitter account on September 30 that he plans to contest the April 2014 election to succeed Hamid Karzai.
Ghani is a Pashtun, Afghanistan's largest ethnic group. He spent some time at U.S. universities before joining the World Bank and serving as Afghan finance minister from 2002 to 2004.
He resigned on September 29 as chairman of the Transition Coordination Committee, which oversees Afghanistan's return to full sovereignty after the U.S.-led ousting of the Taliban regime in 2001.
Ghani has sought the country's highest office in the past. He collected less than 3 percent of the vote in the 2009 presidential election.