KABUL — Afghan President Hamid Karzai hung onto his 54 percent to 28 percent lead over his closest rival today in the presidential contest as the vote count ground on in the face of fraud allegations.
Despite the lopsided margin, the U.N. mission warned there were “no winners” yet from last month’s election, which has come down to the incumbent and former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah.
Karzai’s lead could be cut to below 50 percent, depending on the outcome of investigations by a U.N.-backed group into hundreds of fraud allegations. If that happens, Karzai will face Abdullah in a runoff.
Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission — the body overseeing the election — has now released results from 93 percent of polling stations. Five percent of votes have not been counted, while the rest have been quarantined for suspected fraud.
The standings were little changed from the last results issued Tuesday. The Associated Press
