Afghan election goes to second round

Afghanistan's presidential election will go to a second-round vote on June 14 between former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah and ex-World Bank economist Ashraf Ghani, final results showed Thursday.
The head-to-head election will choose a successor to President Hamid Karzai in Afghanistan's first democratic transfer of power.
Whoever wins will have to oversee the fight against a resilient Taliban insurgency as 51,000 US-led troops depart this year, as well as try to strengthen an economy that relies on declining aid money.
"After a thorough review, it is clear that no candidate has been able to win more than 50 percent and the election goes to a second round," Ahmad Yusuf Nuristani, head of the Independent Election Commission (IEC), said.
Abdullah secured 45 percent of the vote on April 5, with his main rival Ghani on 31.6 percent, according to the final results, according to AFP.