Fraud probe may delay Afghan's presidential poll results: officials

Afghanistan's presidential election results are due out today, but could be delayed as authorities overseeing the country's first democratic transfer of power wade through fraud complaints after last month's first-round vote.

Full results from the April 5 election were released late last month, but the final declaration will factor in the outcome of weeks of deliberation over fraud allegations.

In the preliminary results, none of the eight candidates appeared to have gained more than 50%, triggering a second round run-off to choose President Hamid Karzai's successor, scheduled for next month.

The preliminary results pointed to a head-to-head contest between former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, who took 44.9% of the first-round vote, with ex-World Bank economist Ashraf Ghani, on 31.5%.

A spokesman for the Independent Election Commission told AFP that a decision on whether to delay the first-round results would be made later today.

Abdullah said that his campaign had evidence of fraudulent voting that could have a "significant impact on final results".

Afghan officials and Kabul-based diplomats say June 14 has been pencilled in for the run-off. It comes as US-led troops withdraw from Afghanistan by the end of the year.

The Independent Electoral Complaints Commission (IECC) said yesterday it expected to deliver its report shortly.

"If we need more time to finalise our work, it is for the sake of more transparency and to have a fair and just outcome," its spokesman told a press conference in Kabul.

On Sunday, Abdullah received a major boost with the endorsement of third-placed Zalmai Rassoul, a close ally of Karzai.

Another costly, and potentially violent, election could be avoided by deal-making in the coming weeks, and Rassoul's support for Abdullah increased pressure on Ghani to concede.

Karzai, who is constitutionally barred from a third term in office, has stayed publicly neutral in the election.