(Kabul) – Afghanistan’s preliminary presidential election result has been delayed by two days due to fraud investigations and will now be released on Saturday, officials said as they vowed to sift out fake votes. Partial results from the April 5 election to succeed President Hamid Karzai have already been released, with former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah ahead of his main rival Ashraf Ghani after half of the ballots were counted.
“The IEC is conducting thorough investigations of all irregularities,” the Independent Election Commission said in a press release. “While these investigations have delayed the process slightly, they are critical to the accuracy and integrity of final results.”
The latest partial results put Abdullah in the lead with 44.4 per cent followed by former World Bank economist Ghani on 33.2 per cent.
If no candidate gains more than 50 per cent, a second-round election between the two leading names is tentatively scheduled for May 28.
