The Afghan presidential election has come down to a two-horse race after no single candidate secured an absolute majority in the first round according to final results.
Former opposition leader Abdullah Abdullah, took 45 percent of the vote in April’s contest and is now being touted as the favourite to win the June 14 poll.
The former foreign minister Zalmai Rassoul, said to be the choice of incumbent President Hamid Karzai, finished a distant third but has since joined Abdullah’s camp.
Abdullah’s closest rival Ashraf Ghani has rejected the results of the first round after taking 31.6 percent. He claims almost 800,000 votes should have been annulled and he is the outright winner.
Although the first round generated more complaints of serious fraud than in 2009, it is widely viewed as a success because voter turnout was unexpectedly high and fewer votes were thrown out.
