Taliban rebels shot dead a candidate who was standing in Afghanistan's first parliamentary elections since the hard-line Islamic regime was toppled three years ago, an official said Thursday.Candidate Akhar Mohammad Tolwak's driver and two militants also died in a firefight after his car was ambushed late Wednesday near the town of Deh Yak, outside southern Ghazni city, provincial governor Assadullah Khalid said. Tolwak was the first candidate to be attacked since remnants of the ousted Taliban threatened to derail September's polls, which were delayed for more than a year because of security and technical problems. Similar threats to launch a major attack during last October's presidential vote won by US-backed interim leader Hamid Karzai proved hollow.