| GEO World | | Hamid Karzai leads Afghan poll | Updated at: 0754 PST, Thursday, August 27, 2009
 KABUL: Partial results from last week's election put Afghan President Hamid Karzai ahead of main rival Abdullah Abdullah, but not by enough to avoid a run-off in October, figures released yesterday showed.
With 17 per cent of votes tallied, Karzai held a lead of 43pc to 34pc over former foreign minister Abdullah. To avoid a run-off, a candidate must secure more than 50pc votes.
Meanwhile, in Kandahar, authorities raised the toll from a truck bomb late on Tuesday to 43 dead and 65 wounded, all civilians. |  |
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