Abdullah still ahead in new partial results released in Afghanistan's presidential vote
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New partial results released in Afghanistan's presidential election show candidate Abdullah Abdullah still is the front-runner, though a runoff election will be likely.
Ahmad Yousuf Nouristani, the chairman of Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission, announced the results Sunday. 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 percent of the vote tallied. His closest competitor, Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, a former finance minister and World Bank official, received 33.2 percent of the vote.
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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.