KABUL (AFP) - Afghanistans Independent Election Commission (IEC) said Thursday it had received inquiries from 43 potential candidates for the countrys presidential poll in August. During the past week 43 presidential candidates or their representatives have visited the election commission offices for information on how they can register, said Zakaria Barekzai, the deputy head of the IEC secretariat. The potential candidates had made use of a six-day consultation period during which the IEC had offered information on election requirements, he said. These requirements included depositing 50,000 Afghanis (around 1,000 US dollars) with the IEC and providing proof of endorsement from at least 10,000 voters, he said. Registration of candidates will start Saturday April 25, with the commission publishing a list of approved candidates on May 8, followed by a two-week public review period, Barekzai said. Any candidate convicted of crimes and human rights violations, or deprived of civil rights by a court, will be dropped from the list, he said. So far, few strong candidates have emerged to challenge President Hamid Karzai, who has hinted that he will stand for re-election on August 20 but has yet to state this formally. The National Front, a fragile coalition including former anti-Soviet fighters as well as former communists, among others, has chosen Karzais ex-foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, as its presidential candidate. Other possible contenders for the presidency include former government ministers Ali Ahmad Jalali and Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, who have also yet to announce their candidacy formally.