Vote totals signal Karzai victory

AFGHANISTAN’S election commission has released preliminary vote totals showing President Hamid Karzai with 54.6% of the vote in the first full results to be released since the country’s August 20 election.

The election still has not been certified as final, though. A UN-backed complaints commission is examining thousands of potentially fraudulent ballots. If the commission invalidates enough votes, Karzai’s returns could drop below 50%, forcing him into a two-man runoff with top challenger Abdullah Abdullah, who has 27.7% of the vote.

A UN-backed group investigating fraud has ordered a massive audit and recount of about 10% of the country’s voting stations.