Zalmai Rassoul

A presidential run-off on June 14 can be avoided if Dr Abdullah Abdullah gets more than 50 per cent of the votes.

Afghan election front-runner Abdullah Abdullah received a major boost to his presidential campaign Sunday when Zalmai Rassoul, a close ally of the current leader, endorsed him after withdrawing from the race.

Afghanistan is set to announce preliminary presidential election results on Saturday, with former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah ahead in early counting but below the 50-per cent vote required to avoid a run-off.

Afghan voters went to the polls on Saturday to choose a successor to President Hamid Karzai, braving Taliban threats in a landmark election held as US-led forces wind down their long intervention in the country.

India has assured that its assistance was neither "transitory" nor in "transition" to Afghanistan, which said it was looking forward to increasing training and capacity building of its security forces apart from equipping them with help from India. The two countries also set in motion the implementation of the Strategic Partnership Agreement, inked...

A presidential run-off on June 14 can be avoided if Dr Abdullah Abdullah gets more than 50 per cent of the votes.

Afghan election front-runner Abdullah Abdullah received a major boost to his presidential campaign Sunday when Zalmai Rassoul, a close ally of the current leader, endorsed him after withdrawing from the race.

Afghanistan is set to announce preliminary presidential election results on Saturday, with former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah ahead in early counting but below the 50-per cent vote required to avoid a run-off.

Afghan voters went to the polls on Saturday to choose a successor to President Hamid Karzai, braving Taliban threats in a landmark election held as US-led forces wind down their long intervention in the country.

India has assured that its assistance was neither "transitory" nor in "transition" to Afghanistan, which said it was looking forward to increasing training and capacity building of its security forces apart from equipping them with help from India. The two countries also set in motion the implementation of the Strategic Partnership Agreement, inked...