Summary Abdullah secured 44.9 percent of the vote, with his main rival Ghani on 31.5 percent.
KABUL (AFP) - Afghanistan's presidential election is set for a second-round vote, preliminary results showed Saturday, as opposition leader Abdullah Abdullah and former academic Ashraf Ghani both failed to secure a decisive victory.
"Based on our results, it appears that the election goes to the second round," Ahmad Yusuf Nuristani, head of the Independent Election Commission, told a press conference in Kabul.
Abdullah secured 44.9 percent of the vote, with his main rival Ghani on 31.5 percent, according to the preliminary results.
The final official result is set to be announced on May 14 after a period for adjudication of hundreds of complaints over alleged fraud.
As no candidate gained more than 50 percent, a run-off between the two leading names is required under the Afghan constitution.
Nuristani said the run-off would be held on June 7.
Another expensive and potentially violent election could be avoided by negotiations between the candidates in the coming weeks, but Abdullah has dismissed talks of a possible power-sharing deal.
Eight men ran in the April 5 election, with polling day hailed a success by Afghan officials and foreign allies as the Taliban failed to launch a major attack despite threats to disrupt the vote.
