Delayed Afghanistan election result to be released today

Afghanistan’s presidential election result will be announced on Thursday, officials said, after a one-day delay over fraud investigations into the first round of voting to find a successor to Hamid Karzai.

Full results from the April 5 election were released late last month, but the final declaration will factor in the outcome of weeks of deliberation over fraud allegations.

In the preliminary results, none of the eight candidates gained more than 50 per cent of the vote, pointing to a second round run-off between the two top names as Afghanistan undergoes its first democratic transfer of power.

The head-to-head contest would pit former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, who took 44.9 per cent of the first-round vote, against ex-World Bank economist Ashraf Ghani, on 31.5 per cent.The Independent Election Commission (IEC) on Wednesday issued a statement saying it would release the results at 11:00 am local time on Wednesday. Karzai, who has ruled since the Taliban were ousted in 2001, is constitutionally barred from a third term in office, and the next president will lead Afghanistan into a new era as US-led combat troops withdraw by the end of the year.

Abdullah said on Wednesday that his campaign had evidence of fraudulent voting that could have a ‘significant impact on final results’. Election officials have pencilled in June 14 for the run-off.

On Sunday, Abdullah received a major boost with the endorsement of third-placed Zalmai Rassoul, a close ally of President Karzai, who has stayed publicly neutral in the election.