(VOVworld) – The Afghan Independent Election Commission (IEC) has delayed the announcement of the April presidential election result pending an investigation of possible electoral fraud.

An Afghan man casts his vote at a polling station in Jalalabad on Saturday, April 5, 2014. (Photo: CNN)

According to preliminary results published on June 26, neither of the two leading candidates – former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah and ex-World Bank economist Ashraf Ghani – had an absolute majority. A run-off is scheduled for June 7. According to the IEC, Abdullah finished first with 44.9 percent, followed by Ghani with 31.5 percent. About 7 million of 12 million qualified Afghan voters – about 60% – voted on the April election. The number of presidential candidates was reduced to 8 after three candidates withdrew from the race.