Karzai increases lead to 46.2% - 35% of polling stations counted

Afghanistan's election commission says President Hamid Karzai has increased his lead over his top challenger and is inching closer to the important 50-per-cent threshold.

Karzai now has 46.2 per cent of the votes counted in the country's Aug. 20 presidential election, the commission announced Saturday. Top challenger Abdullah Abdullah has 31.4 per cent, it said.

The results are based on 35 per cent of the country's polling stations, meaning they could still change dramatically. Karzai must reach 50 per cent of ballots cast to avoid a runoff.

Results won't be finalized until late September after allegations of fraud are investigated. Accusations of ballot box stuffing and voter intimidation could call the election's legitimacy into question.