Karzai increases lead to 46 pct in Afghan election

KABUL (AP) — President Hamid Karzai widened his lead in Afghanistan's presidential race as new vote tallies were released Saturday, inching closer to the 50 percent threshold of votes he needs to avoid a run-off.

As Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission slowly releases partial results from the Aug. 20 presidential election, accusations of fraud have poured into the Electoral Complaint Commission. Videos of alleged fraud have been posted on the Internet, and Karzai's top challenger, Abdullah Abdullah, has made multiple complaints of cheating.

The allegations from Abdullah and other presidential candidates, along with low turnout in the violent south because of Taliban threats of violence, could strip the election of legitimacy in Afghan eyes. Security officials are monitoring tensions among Abdullah supporters for any signs that the election turmoil could ignite violence.

The latest results show Karzai ahead with 46.2 percent of the votes already counted against Abdullah's 31.4 percent. The results are based on 35 percent of the country's polling stations, meaning they could still change dramatically. Karzai must win 50 percent of ballots cast to avoid a runoff.

Final results will not be released until late September after the allegations of fraud have been investigated.

In Abdullah's latest salvo against the Afghan president, he said Karzai was behind "state-crafted, massive election fraud" and called his government "too corrupt" and the "worst in the world."

The U.N.-backed Electoral Complaints Commission has said the number of major fraud complaints that could "materially affect" the outcome had soared to 270.

The lengthy election process has added to strains in U.S.-Afghan relations, which had already cooled since the Obama administration took office.

Abdullah called the Karzai government a "mafia-like regime" in an interview with Italy's RAI State TV broadcast Friday. He denied that he had been approached about any sort of power-sharing deal and said he saw no place for himself in a Karzai-led administration. And while he said he would "resort to peaceful means" to register his election concerns, he left open the possibility that problems may arise.

"The fact is that the foundations of this country have been damaged by this fraud, throwing it open to all kinds of consequences, including instability," Abdullah said. "I have a vision for this country: to put it back on the right track. This regime is too corrupt, the worst in the world."