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Afghanistan's Karzai Holds Firm Lead in Disputed Vote


Afghan election officials say President Hamid Karzai holds a firm lead in the country's disputed election, according to a nearly complete vote tally announced Saturday.

Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission says, with 93 percent of the results tallied, Mr. Karzai holds a 54 percent lead, more than the 50 percent needed to avoid a runoff.

His main challenger, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah has 28 percent of the vote. But Dr. Abdullah and other candidates are disputing the results.

The results will not be final until a different, U.N.-backed Electoral Complaints Commission investigates allegations of widespread fraud .

United Nations Spokesman Aleem Siddique in Kabul tells VOA it is too soon to judge the outcome of the election, because there have been more than 2,000 complaints about the August 20 vote.

If the Complaints Commission throws out enough votes, it could bring Mr. Karzai below the 50 percent threshold.

Thursday, the Complaints Commission excluded ballots from 51 polling sites in Kandahar, 27 in Ghazni and five in Paktika. Those areas showed strong support for incumbent President Karzai.

Friday, the U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan (Richard Holbrooke) said people should not "jump to conclusions" before the investigations are complete. But he also said drawing out the process of vote counting over months could lead to instability in the country.

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