TIMES ONLINE: President Hamid Karzai and his main rival, Dr Abdullah Abdullah, both claimed victory in the first round of Afghanistan's presidential election this morning, raising fears that the country could split along ethnic lines and erupt in violent protest.
Deen Mohammad, President Karzai’s campaign chief, told several media outlets that Mr Karzai had secured the outright majority needed to avoid a run-off in early October with Dr Abdullah, his closest rival.
"Initial results show that the president has got a majority," he said. "We will not got [sic] to a second round. We have got a majority."
A spokesman for Dr Abdullah immediately dismissed that as untrue, and said that early results from all but three provinces put Dr Abdullah on 63 per cent of the vote, and Mr Karzai on 31.
“We should say that Mr Abdullah has won in the first round,” Sayyid Agha Hussain Fazel Sancharaki told The Times. >>> Jeremy Page in Kabul | Friday, August 21, 2009
