KABUL - The Independent Election Commission (IEC) on Friday said vote counting and inspections had been completed and preliminary results would be announced on Saturday.

"The IEC is ready to officially announce the preliminary results of the presidential elections," IEC spokesman Noor Muhammad Noor said on Friday. "Our technical section is working on the final report so we can upload it on to the IEC website so that people can see that no one's rights have been violated."

According to the election commission, result sheets from over 1,700 voting centers have been inspected and results sheets from 789 centers recounted. All the recount and post-inspection data will be included in Saturday's results.

With neither candidate having a clear majority, the election could end up in a runoff. The IEC has scheduled the potential round for sometime before May 28.

"If the election goes into a second round, the laws of Afghanistan are very clear and the IEC does not have any problems regarding financial or technical point," Noor said. "Based on the law, we would be able to hold the elections among the two leading candidates of the first round."

Results will be available on the IEC's website after Saturday, indicating the province-by-province breakdown of support for each candidate.

The IEC has said that results from centers being investigated by the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) would not be included in the preliminary results. The ECC announced that it had already voided 74 polling centers.

An estimated seven million people took part on Election Day. The IEC has announced the preliminary results in three parts, totaling 82 percent of results. (Tolonews)