Boys wheel by a poster of Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Jalalabad, Nangarhar province, east of Kabul on Saturday. (Rahmat Gul/Associated Press)Afghan President Hamid Karzai widened his lead over his main challenger in the latest election returns, creeping toward the 50 per cent mark that would enable him to avoid a run-off in the divisive presidential contest.

Karzai's top challenger, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, stepped up his fraud charges Saturday, raising doubts whether his followers would accept the incumbent if he wins in the first round.

Accusations of fraud in the Aug. 20 vote have poured into the Electoral Complaint Commission, which must investigate the allegations before final results can be announced.

Credibility issues

Fraud allegations from Abdullah and other presidential candidates as well as low turnout in the violent south could strip the election of legitimacy, not only among Afghans but also among the United States and its international partners that have staked their Afghan policies on support for a credible government.

A widely accepted Afghan government is one of the pillars of President Barack Obama's strategy to turn the tide of the Taliban insurgency. The election controversy has boiled over at a time of rising U.S. and NATO casualties, undermining support for the war in the U.S., Britain and other countries with troops in Afghanistan. Canada has more than 2,500 troops in Afghanistan.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown paid a surprise visit Saturday to British troops in southern Afghanistan's Helmand province, hoping to counter critics who accuse his government of failing to support Britain's mission. A British marine was killed by a bomb in Helmand on the day of the prime minister's visit, the Ministry of Defence said in London.

Figures released Saturday indicated Karzai has 46.2 per cent of the votes against Abdullah's 31.4 per cent. The results are based on 35 per cent of the country's polling stations, meaning the percentages could still change dramatically.

Few results have been announced from northern Balkh province, where Abdullah was expected to be strong, and from some southern Pashto-speaking provinces, where Karzai draws his support.

Aides confident

Karzai's aides appeared confident that the president would score a first-round victory and avoid a run-off, which would probably be held in October if needed.

By contrast, Abdullah has been stepping up his charges, telling Italy's RAI television that Karzai was responsible for "state-crafted, massive election fraud."

Abdullah's drumbeat of allegations appear aimed in part at the United States and its allies, which would face some hard choices if a substantial number of fraud complaints are found to be true.

"If we allow he who robbed the votes of this country to move forward, we would give the Afghan people a future that they do not want to see, and I think this goes also for the international community," Abdullah said in the Italian interview.

Abdullah said he would keep his protests "within the confines of the law."

"But the fact is that the foundations of this country have been damaged by this fraud, throwing it open to all kinds of consequences, including instability," he added. "It is true that the Taliban are the first threat to this country, but an illegitimate government would be the second."