The Chairman of Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission, Ahmad Yusuf Nuristani, said during a press conference in Kabul on Sunday that Abdullah is in first place with 44.9 percent of the votes, followed by Ghani with 31.5 percent.

Only 80 percent of the votes have been counted so far, with final election results expected on May 14 after a period to address complaints over alleged fraud.

“With the percentage of votes (still to be counted), I suspect there will not be a winner in the first round, but I cannot say decisively,” said Nuristani.

The two candidates, however, are likely to face a run-off vote on May 28 after none of them managed to secure 50 percent of the votes as required by election law.

On April 5, more than 6.8 million Afghans went to the polls to choose a successor to two-time President Hamid Karzai.

The election was held amid tight security in 6,000 polling stations across Afghanistan, following threats from the Taliban militants, who had pledged to disrupt the polling process.

LINK: https://www.ansarpress.com/english/1852

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