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Recount clouds Karzai poll lead | |
(40 minutes later) | |
Latest results from Afghanistan's presidential election show President Hamid Karzai with 54.1% of the vote after 92% of polling stations declared. | Latest results from Afghanistan's presidential election show President Hamid Karzai with 54.1% of the vote after 92% of polling stations declared. |
The results push President Karzai past the 50% threshold needed to avoid a run-off with rival Abdullah Abdullah. | |
But the figures were thrown into doubt by the UN-backed election complaints commission ordering a number of recounts and audits of votes. | |
It warned that it had found "clear and convincing evidence of fraud". | It warned that it had found "clear and convincing evidence of fraud". |
The 20 August election has been overshadowed by claims against all the main candidates of fraud and ballot-box stuffing. | |
A credible election result was seen as a key objective for the West, as it continues its campaign against the Taliban. | A credible election result was seen as a key objective for the West, as it continues its campaign against the Taliban. |
The latest results came in from the south, where President Karzai enjoys strong support. | |
The Independent Election Commission (IEC) said Abdullah Abdullah remained second, with 28.3% of the vote. | |
However, it said it had set aside results from 600 polling stations where it suspects irregularities and the list of those stations had been sent to the complaints commission (ECC). | |
'Clear evidence' | |
Earlier, the ECC said a recount and inspection should be done for any polling station where 600 or more votes were cast, or where any single candidate got more than 95% of votes. | |
Grant Kippen, chairman of the complaints commission, said it was not known how many polling stations this would involve. | Grant Kippen, chairman of the complaints commission, said it was not known how many polling stations this would involve. |
He said investigations conducted in Ghazni, Paktika and Kandahar found "clear evidence of irregularity" within polling stations and ballot boxes. | |
"We decided based on those investigations... that we would order the IEC to conduct an audit and recount of polling stations around the country." | |
Results from a number of polling stations showed President Karzai winning 100% of the vote. | |
The BBC's Chris Morris, in Kabul, says international pressure is being applied to ensure that the IEC is doing its job fairly. | |
However, the election is a complex process and becoming more complex by the day, our correspondent adds. | |
The election results have been released piecemeal by the IEC. | The election results have been released piecemeal by the IEC. |
The previous figures, released on Sunday, gave Mr Karzai 48.6% of the vote against 31.7% for Mr Abdullah. |