Former Afghan defence minister and presidential hopeful Abdul Rahim Wardak withdrew Sunday from the Afghan presidential race leaving nine hopefuls in the contest.
"I am announcing my withdrawal from the presidential race and next month's presidential elections," Xinhua quoted Wardak as saying at a press conference here.
Without giving any reason for quitting the contest, Wardak said that he was thankful to all those who supported him so far in the campaign. Wardak who did not express support for any candidate, added: "I want the country to have a fair and transparent election."
Rahim Wardak is the second candidate to quit the April presidential contest in Afghanistan.
Earlier, President Hamid Karzai's elder brother Abdul Qayum Karzai quit the presidential contest and threw his weight behind the country's former foreign minister Zalmai Rassoul.
