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| Afghanistan |
| Karzai Takes Lead in Afghan Vote, With 10% of Ballots Counted |
| 2009-08-25 |
| Afghan President Hamid Karzai has a slight lead over his rival, Abdullah Abdullah, with 10 percent of the votes counted in the Aug. 20 presidential election, the Independent Election Commission said. Karzai has about 40 percent of the ballots counted so far, and Abdullah, his former foreign minister, has some 36 percent, the commission said at a press conference in Kabul today. If no candidate gets an outright majority of 50 percent or more, a runoff vote will be held. ... Karzai won election in 2005 with 55 percent of ballots and has seen his popularity decline since then. Two opinion surveys conducted last month by U.S.-based research groups indicated he would get 40 to 44 percent of the vote. |
| Posted by:ed |