Preliminary results from Afghanistan's presidential election, due to be announced on Wednesday, have been delayed, an election official said, amid accusations of fraud. Votes from around 2,000 polling stations in the June 14 run-off are to be reviewed and recounted, said Sharifa Zurmati Wardak of the Independent Election Commission (IEC). The contest pitted former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah against former World Bank economist Ashraf Ghani. "This will take nearly a week and the final result won't be announced on time," Wardak told Reuters. A senior U.N. official said the delay was intended to take account of allegations by Abdullah that his rival engaged in mass vote rigging.
