The campaign chief of Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah said they would appeal the results of the poll if it is falsified.
Election officials said on Wednesday that Afghanistan`s incumbent president, Hamid Karzai, had a 10-point lead over closest rival Abdullah Abdullah with 17.2% of the vote counted after last week`s presidential polls.
"The fact that under the current circumstances Afghanistan held an election is without a doubt a positive moment and a considerable step forward. But first, turnout was unfortunately low rather than high due to a number of factors. Second, the election was marred by violations, pressures and fraud," Fazel Sangcharaki said in an interview with RIA Novosti.
He added that a number of documents proving election falsifications were presented on Tuesday during Abdallah`s news conference in Kabul and the campaign had already submitted complaints on this issue with the country`s Independent Election Complaints Commission.
Daud Najafi, the chief electoral officer, told journalists in Kabul on Wednesday that with 998,484 ballot papers counted, Karzai has 422,137 votes (44.8%) to former foreign minister Abdullah`s 35.1%.
A candidate needs 50% of the vote to claim victory without a runoff.
Election day was plagued by militant attacks, with some 400 registered across the country.
sections: World News |