Abdullah Takes Early Lead in Afghan Presidential Election

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Initial count of Afghanistan's elections by the Independent Election Commission (IEC) on Sunday put presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah in the lead.

"Results based on 10 percent of votes from 26 out of 34 provinces showed Abdullah with 41.9 percent and Western-leaning academic Ashraf Ghani second with 37.6 percent," wrote Reuters. "A third candidate, Zalmay Rassoul, backed by two of Karzai's brothers, trailed far behind with 9.8 percent."

IEC chairman Ahmad Yousuf Nuristani stated in a press conference those figures were not final and the leading candidate could change at any time. "The initial results are from just 10 percent of the polling stations in 26 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces," said Nuristani.

The Independent Election Complaints Commission (IECC) received 870 Priority A complaints, higher than in 2009, which was around 815 complaints. The figures are considered serious, although it could reflect a greater willingness of observers and voters to complain.

UN special envoy Jan Kubis said all Afghans must wait for ICC's final decision and asked all stakeholders not to jump into conclusion.

Afghanistan's presidential elections were held on Saturday, April 5, 2014, marking the first democratic transfer of government since the fall of Taliban regime in 2001. The elections were held to find a replacement for President Hamid Karzai, who has been in office for 12 years and banned from re-running for president.

REUTERS | VOA | CORNILA DESYANA