Official campaigning begins in Afghanistan

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Play VideoNew command of US, NATO forces in Afghanistan

Afghan President Hamid Karzai and 40 other candidates have begun their official campaigns for the country's top post.

Karzai is the clear front-runner to win a second term. He's led Afghanistan since soon after US-backed troops invaded in 2001 to oust the Taliban regime sheltering Osama bin Laden.

Chief among his challengers are former Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani and former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah.

41 candidates are running for the five-year term, but few are considered serious contenders. The campaign period will end August 18th, two days before the vote.

A poster of the current Afghan President and presidential candidate Hamid Karzai is pasted on an electricity pole in front of a destroyed old palace in Kabul June 16, 2009.REUTERS/Ahmad Masood