POLITICS: Karzai well ahead in Afghan tally, page 1

President Hamid Karzai is showing a huge lead on his rivals based on the small number of votes tallied in the Afghanistan elections. The information from the official election site notes however, that only 4.2% of the total vote has been counted so far. Of the votes cast, Karzai has captured 72%.

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Weekend counting shows interim President Hamid Karzai is well ahead of his rivals and on course to become Afghanistan"s first popularly elected leader.

Karzai has 71 percent of the count so far, according to the official election Web site. But only a little over 4 percent of the total vote has been tallied.

Counting resumed Saturday after a one-day break to observe the start of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month.

Overshadowing the weekend counting has been the death of two U.S. soldiers and five Afghan civilians from terrorist attacks.

Of almost 344,000 votes counted by Saturday evening, Karzai, the U.S.-backed favorite, had captured 71 percent, though the preliminary result was based on only 4.2 percent of the ballots cast on October 9.

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His next closest rival former Education Minister Yunus Qanooni has 15 %. While it may take until the end of October to get the official results, the outcome is expected to be known within a few days. Karzai, the preferred choice of the United States, is hoping to secure a majority of the vote in order to avoid a runoff election.