Formal results will not be announced until September
Afghanistan’s two leading candidates for president have both claimed victory a day after elections were held. Spokesmen for both incumbent President Hamid Karzai, and his main challenger and one-time foreign minister, Abdullah Abdullah, say early results suggest they won more than 50 per cent of the vote, making a runoff unnecessary. Formal results will not be announced until September, and Afghanistan’s election commission has asked candidates to refrain from making claims about results until then.