Afghan polling 'marked by fraud'

Election observers in Afghanistan have said there was widespread voting fraud and intimidation during the presidential election on Thursday.

Stuffed ballot boxes, illiterate voters being told who to vote for and biased officials were cited by Afghanistan's Free and Fair Election Foundation.

But EU monitors said, despite widespread intimidation and violence, the vote was generally good and fair.

There have been rival claims of victory but no winner has been announced.

The chief EU observer said it was still early days in assessing the election.

The Free and Fair Election Foundation's provisional report also details accounts of multiple voting, underage voting and election officials being ejected from polling stations by representatives of candidates.

Threats of violence against voters came from local powerbrokers, the Taliban and rival political camps according to the Foundation, which sent about 7,000 observers around the country.

Election officials have estimated turnout at between 40 and 50% which, if confirmed, would be well down on the 70% who voted in the first presidential election, in 2004.

Thursday's voting passed off relatively peacefully amid threats of Taliban attacks. The EU election observer mission said the election was well organized and was a victory for the Afghan people.

As official returns are collated, the leading contenders have said they will not incite street protests if they lose.

The incumbent Hamid Karzai and his main rival Abdullah Abdullah gave the assurance to the US special envoy to the region, Richard Holbrooke.

Both men have claimed victory.

Pre-election opinion polls suggested Hamid Karzai was leading the field of candidates but might face a run-off with Mr Abdullah.

Partial, preliminary results are expected on Tuesday and final results are due to be released in September.

If neither candidate wins an outright majority of 50%, then the vote goes to a second round in October.

One of the other 31 contenders and the deputy speaker of the lower house of parliament, Mirwais Yassini, told the BBC he believes both main camps practiced widespread electoral fraud.

He has lodged 31 complaints with Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission (IEC).