Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, who continues to trail behind the incumbent, has won 31.70 percent of the ballots tallied until Sunday, according to latest figures released by the Independent Election Commission.
A senior IEC official said ballots from 74.2 percent of polling stations had been calculated. Staying atop, Karzai has polled 2,089,179 votes, Dr. Abdullah 1,361,247 and Ramazan Bashardost 457,909 (10.7 percent) out of the 4.3 million valid votes.
Chief Electoral Officer Daud Ali Najafi announced the partial returns at a news conference here. The final outcome of the second direct presidential polls is to be unveiled in mid-September.
Ex-finance minister Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, in the fourth slot, has bagged 115,535 votes (2.7 percent), followed by Mirwais Yasini with 42,306 (1.0 percent).
Shahnawaz Tanai has received 27,343 ballots, Dr. Habib Mangal 20,529, Dr. Frozan Fana 18,872, Mulla Abdul Salam Rakity 17,108, Motasim Billah Mazhabi 17,019 and Sarwar Ahmadzai 16,004.
Of the total votes tallied, Najafi explained, 153,481 were invalid, with 70359 of the rejected ballots going to the candidates who had opted out of the presidential race.
Under Article 21 of the Constitution, a hopeful has to amass more than 50 percent of the votes to win the top elective office. If none of contenders reaches that threshold, the polls will go to the second round to decide the winner.
While urging contenders to exercise patience, Najafi said electoral authorities could be approached in case of discrepancies in the results announced by IEC and the polling stations.
If the IEC failed to satisfy them, the official said, the complainers could move the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) to look into their gripes. Complaints must be supported by incontrovertible evidence, he concluded.
Speaking to journalists on Saturday, Abdullah alleged the IEC collaborated with the Karzai administration at fixing the historic presidential vote. He showed reporters some IEC website links that proved Karzai bagged 100 percent votes in several provinces.
In Paktika, he said, the number of ballots cast was 100 percent more than the number of registered voters. He charged the IEC and the government launched the fraud conspiracy as soon as the election process was set in motion. And the anomalies continued, he maintained.
Responding to the accusations, the IEC assured citizens and candidates it had carried out this duty faithfully, impartially and according to the law. Noor Muhammad Noor, IEC spokesman, said the commission reserved the right of vindication against allegations from some candidates.
"The IEC considers the allegations of Dr. Abdullah … are against the expectations and endeavors of the IEC. The commission believes, considering the prevailing situation in the country, the elections were transparent and just."
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