The United States Tuesday urged Afghans to exercise patience and restraint as ballots cast in the country's presidential election last week continue to be counted amid allegations of fraud, dpa reported. Afghanistan's election commission released a partial result on Tuesday showing President Hamid Karzai narrowly leading over his chief rival, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, by a 40.6-to- 38.7-per-cent margin. But that represents only 10 per cent of the ballots cast on Thursday. A final outcome is not expected to be announced until at least mid-September. "We all need to be patient, allow the respective authorities to do their jobs thoroughly, and we have to wait for the results to be released," State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said. "We call on all parties to refrain from speculation until the national results are announced," he said. A candidate must win 50 per cent of the vote to avoid a run-off, which would take place in October.
