Abdul Latif Pedram, a former MP and head of Afghanistan’s National Congress Party, filed candidacy papers with the Independent Election Commission (IEC) on Thursday.

Pedram is the first nominee who is formally running for the 2019 presidential election.

He has elected Ihsanullah Haidari and Mohammad Sadeq Wardak as his deputies.

Meanwhile, another hopeful candidate Hakim Toorsan showed up at the IEC for the nomination but he failed to register himself as a candidate because one of his deputies was absent.

The presidential candidates’ registration process officially launched today.

According to the IEC, about 73 possible presidential candidates including two women have received information packages so far.

Afghanistan’s presidential election will be held on July 20. It was originally scheduled for April 20, but later it was delayed after problems raised in using a biometric system and finalizing results of Afghan parliamentary elections.