Afghan polls: Karzai widens lead

Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai was moving towards victory in country's fraud-tainted elections as the United States hit out at what it said were reports of Washington wanting to influence the outcome of the vote.

Incumbent Karzai widened his lead over his closest rival Abdullah Abdullah on Saturday, as officials released the third tranche of results, totalling 35 per cent of votes cast in the country's second presidential election on August 20.

The figures gave Karzai 46.3 per cent of votes announced and Abdullah 31.4 per cent, widening his previous lead of around nine percent and apparently increasing his prospects of avoiding a second round.

The election was held under a cloud of Taliban intimidation aimed at keeping turnout low -- estimated at 30-35 per cent -- and possibly jeopardising the credibility of the results.

Counting is continuing in the presidential and provincial elections and the next results are to be announced on Monday by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), with preliminary results due September 3 and the final tally on September 17.

The time it is taking to announce the results has allowed allegations of fraud to become a focal point, not only between Karzai and Abdullah, but for Afghanistan's international backers.

Meanwhile, the Election Complaints Commission (ECC) has received more than 2,000 complaints, 450 of which it said could influence the outcome.

Comments by US and European officials in recent days about the potential extent of electoral fraud have hinted at dismay among the international community that has bankrolled the elections.

Richard Holbrooke, the US special representative to Afghanistan, had a meeting with Karzai the day after the election, and was said by a French foreign ministry official to favour a second round run-off for the sake of credibility.

The US embassy in Kabul issued a statement late on Saturday in which it said Washington's "only interest is in a credible process".

"We do not support or oppose any particular candidate, and whether there is a run-off is an issue for the Afghan electoral bodies to determine. We have seen reports in the Afghan media about the United States reportedly encouraging political figures to take part in a coalition government. These reports are false," it said.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown used a surprise visit to Afghanistan on Saturday to hint that more British troops could be on their way to join an international coalition.

During his one-day tour of the country, which included visits to British bases in the troubled south, Brown pledged to speed up the training of Afghan security forces to battle the insurgency and eventually draw down international troops.