Abdullah Abdullah holds on to lead in Afghanistan polls but run-off likely

New Delhi: Dr Abdullah Abdullah holds on to his nearly 11% lead over his nearest rival Dr Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai in the Afghan Presidential polls. The Independent Election Commission (IEC) has announced the third round of partial results. (Abdullah Abdullah increases lead in Afghanistan presidential polls)

From 82.59% of the valid votes from all 34 provinces, former foreign minister Dr Abdullah leads with 43.7%, former finance minister Dr Ghani has 32.9% and another ex-Foreign Minister Dr Zalmai Rassoul is at 11.1%. Five other candidates are even further behind.

The IEC head Ahmad Yousuf Nouristani, at a press conference in Kabul, also said the final preliminary results will be announced on April 26. The IEC had said yesterday it was postponing that announcement, originally scheduled for today.

Run-off likely
Though Mr Nooristani said he would not comment on whether a run-off will be necessary, he added that the IEC was ready for a second round on May 28. If no candidate gets 50%  1 vote, the top two go into a second round run-off. If that happens the winner may not be announced till late June-early July.

Mr Nooristani added that votes from 12.6% of polling stations were being re-evaluated or recounted. Today's announcement does not take those votes into account.  

Over 1.3 million votes had been annulled in the 2009 Presidential polls and the IEC and the IECC(Independent Election Complaints Commission) have indicated that there could have been more fraud this time. (Afghanistan presidential election provokes more than 3,000 complaints)

Long wait for next President
After the final preliminary results are announced on Saturday, there will be a period of complaints and decisions made on annulment of votes till the 7th of May. Final results of the first round are expected on May 14 and a run-off, if needed, is scheduled for May 28. Both top contenders have rejected reports that they might form a coalition government to avoid a run-off.

The Taliban have repeatedly rejected the elections and warned Afghans against participating in them. But, defying the threats and attacks when voting took place on April 5, the IEC estimates about 7 million votes have been cast this time which is about 58% of estimated voters.(Afghanistan surprises with smooth and calm elections)