Ahmad Yousuf Nouristani, the chairman of Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission, announced the results today. They represent about half of the estimated 7 million ballots cast in the April 5 vote.
Abdullah, President Hamid Karzai's top rival in the country's last election, has 44 per cent of the vote tallied. His closest competitor, Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, a former finance minister and World Bank official, received 33.2 per cent of the vote.
Final results are scheduled to be released on May 14. Ghani and Abdullah are vying to take over from Karzai, who was constitutionally barred from seeking a third term.
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