Kabul-Sana
KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan's chief executive said on Sunday that he had won the first round of presidential elections in the country despite continuing vote counting.
"The Independent Election Commission will announce the results but we have obtained the most votes, there will be no second round," Abdullah told a news conference, announcing his team would form the new government.
Abdullah, who ran for the third time after losing in 2009 and 2014, is one of President Ashraf Ghani's main rivals.
In turn, the head of the Independent Electoral Commission Habib Rahman Nang Abdullah's announcement premature and said: "No candidate has the right to declare himself a winner.
The electoral commission is not expected to announce preliminary results before October 19.
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