The complaints commission has called for thousands of votes to be scrapped [AFP]

The Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) published the findings of its long-awaited investigation into poll fraud in Afganistan's elections on Monday.

The report, published on the ECC's website, called for ballots cast at 210 polling stations during the country's August 20 polls to be discarded.

Sources say that the move had pushed Karzai's share of the vote to below 50 per cent, the number needed to avoid a runoff with Abdullah Abdullah, his main rival.

Results awaited

Waheed Omar, a spokesman for Karzai's campaign, dismissed claims that the complaints commission report meant a runoff would be necessary.

"I don't think we can make any judgement based on the figures announced today," he was quoted by the Associated Press as saying.

Preliminary results last month had showed Karzai winning the election with more than 54 per cent of the vote, but allegations of massive fraud prompted the complaints commission's investigation.

The Independent Election Commission, the Afghan electoral body which organised the vote, is still to announce the official results, but the ECC's findings are seen as key to the outcome.

The complaints commission said in a statement accompanying its findings that the Afghan election authorities were now responsible for adjusting candidates' vote totals in accordance with the ECC's decision before it may certify the final result".

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