Abdullah leads in Afghan vote

Former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah is leading his closest rival Ashraf Ghani in the Afghan presidential election, the country's Independent Election Commission (IEC) says.

"Today we announce the partial results of 26 provinces with 10 per cent of votes counted, these include (provinces) in the north, south, east, west and Kabul," said Yousuf Nuristani, the IEC chief, on Sunday.

"With 500,000 votes from 26 provinces Dr Abdullah is leading with 41.9 per cent; Dr Ashraf Ghani has 37.6 per cent and is in second; and Zalmai Rassoul has 9.8 per cent in third position."