An Afghan man casts his vote at a polling station in Jalalabad, east of Kabul,on Saturday. Despite Taliban threats of violence, many Afghans voted in Saturday’s presidential runoff vote with hopes that whoever replaces Hamid Karzai will be able to provide security and stability after international forces wind down their combat mission at the end of this year.

KABUL: Rival camps in Afghanistan’s presidential race each proclaimed to be leading the contest on Sunday, a day after the run-off was held and as officials were still tallying the hundreds killed or injured in election-related violence.

Observers and other officials in Kabul are worried that both candidates are setting the stage to complain about fraud and refuse to accept defeat should the outcome of the vote be close.

The United Nations on Sunday urged the candidates, former Northern Alliance leader Abdullah Abdullah and former finance minister Ashraf Ghani, to honor the election procedures, in the tallying of votes.

“The Secretary-General encourages the candidates and their supporters to respect the electoral process,” the UN said in a statement.

If successful, the vote will mark the country’s first democratic transfer of power in its history. The winner will succeed President Hamid Karzai.

Abdullah, who dropped out of the 2009 run-off against the president, has spent five years in the opposition. His opponent, Ghani, is a former World Bank economist.

Both candidates appeared to set the stage for refusing to accept defeat in an election, likely marred by fraud, when the final results are announced at the end of July.

Speaking after the poll closed on Saturday, Abdullah questioned the official turnout figures while Ghani declared he would win based on reports from his observers and others.

“The result is already very clear to everyone because Dr. Ashraf Ghani’s observers were monitoring and at the same time were asking people’s opinion,” said a member of the Ghani team, former candidate Daud Sultanzoy.

Abdullah’s camp was equally categorical about the outcome, referring to their near 14 point lead in the first round.

“The result is obviously very clear,” said Mahmoud Saikal, who quit a senior role in the government to join Abdullah. “We will never accept the result if based on fraud and we will certainly dig out those who committed fraud and hang them.”

Meanwhile, the election complaints commission said it had received 274 complaints of fraud so far, including 29 against its staff. Complaints can be lodged up to 48 hours after the vote closed at 4pm on Saturday.

Violence

Whoever wins the run-off will take over as most foreign troops withdraw, leaving behind a potent Taleban insurgency and a growing economic crisis.

The Taleban, who were ousted by a US-led coalition in 2001, call the election “a sham show to install another fake regime in Afghanistan” and launched hundreds of attacks on Saturday in an effort to disrupt the process.

More than 40 civilians were killed and over 70 wounded as a result, according to government officials. The figures did not include 11 people who had their ink-stained fingers chopped off by the Taleban as punishment for voting. Voters had to dip a finger in a pot of ink to prevent them voting twice.

The toll for soldiers and police was unclear as at least one battle continued through the night until Sunday morning in Kandahar, but officials said at 29 security personnel had been killed and over 70 wounded by 6 p.m. on election day.

Despite the bloodshed, millions of Afghans turned out to vote in the run-off and the electoral commission said more than seven million cast ballots, a similar turnout to the first round in April.

Both candidates support a security pact with the United States which is expected to result in a contingent of about 10,000 US troops remaining in Afghanistan after the bulk of foreign forces withdraw by the end of the year.