An election to the office of President of Afghanistan was held on October 9,2004 . Hamid Karzai won the election with of the votes and three times more votes than any other candidate. Twelve candidates received less than of the vote. It is estimated that more than threequarters of Afghanistan's nearly 12 million registered voters cast ballots. The election was overseen by the Joint Electoral Management Body, chaired by Zakim Shah and vice-chaired by Ray Kennedy, an American working for the United Nations.