Partial results show tight race in Afghan election
Source: AP-Excite
By KAY JOHNSON and AMIR SHAH
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Two clear front-runners emerged in Afghanistan's presidential election Sunday as partial results showed a tight race between President Hamid Karzai's closest rival in the last vote and a former World Bank official.
With 10 percent of the ballots counted, Abdullah Abdullah, who came in second in the disputed 2009 election, had 41.9 percent, followed by Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai with 37.6 percent. In third place with 9.8 percent of the vote was Zalmai Rassoul, another former foreign minister who was considered a favorite of Karzai.
Karzai himself was constitutionally barred from seeking a third term.
Officials cautioned the vote count could change as full preliminary results were not due until April 24, but the early numbers suggest none of the eight candidates was likely to get the outright majority needed to avoid a runoff.
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Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at his residence in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, April 13, 2014. Shortly after partial results were announced, Abdullah said that he will seek a unity government and that he has held talks with rival Zalmai Rassoul but that it is premature to discuss a possible alliance. (AP Photo/Massoud Hossaini)