KABUL, Oct 21 (AFP) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai moved closer to winning his country's first presidential election Thursday, taking a substantial lead over his nearest rival with more than 60 percent of votes counted, according to official results.
By 6:00 pm (1330 GMT) the Pashtun leader had 56.2 percent of the vote, well ahead of his Tajik former education minister Yunus Qanooni on 17.2 percent and Hazara warlord Mohammad Mohaqiq on 10.1 percent, the electoral commission said on its website.
With 62.2 percent of the votes counted, Karzai is now ahead in 20 of the war-torn country's 34 provinces and has amassed some 2.8 million votes.
The transitional president needs at least 50 percent of the vote nationwide to be elected to the position he has held since shortly after the fall of the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban regime in late 2001.
A clear mathematical lead is expected within two or three days.
The October 9 elections, which had been threatened by insurgents, were carried out without serious violence with millions of Afghans casting their votes.
But allegations of voting irregularities have marred the polls with all 18 presidential candidates making formal complaints.
Three foreign independent experts are now assessing these complaints and no results will be final until they issue their report on the polling in late October or early November.