21 October 2004	Thursday	06 Ramazan 1425

KABUL, Oct 20: Incumbent leader Hamid Karzai's chief rival Yunus Qanooni told AFP on Wednesday he would accept the outcome of Afghanistan's presidential election despite his allegations of fraud.

"I have made sacrifices for the national interests of Afghanistan and I am ready to make another sacrifice," the former education minister said in an interview in Kabul.

Asked if that meant he would accept the result he replied: "Yes, you understood me well."

VICTORY: Meanwhile, almost half the votes counted on Wednesday, Karzai looked set to win a clear victory with 61.4 per cent of the votes already under his belt.

His nearest rival and former education minister Yunus Qanooni had only 16.7 per cent of the 47.7 per cent of estimated total votes counted, according to an update on the Afghan electoral commission website at 5:16pm (1244 GMT).

Almost neck-and-neck in third and fourth place were Uzbek warlord Abdul Rashid Dostam with 7.9 per cent of votes, and Hazara military strongman Mohammed Mohaqeq with 7.6 per cent of votes.

Afghanistan's only female candidate Massooda Jalal remained in fifth place with 1.0 per cent of the vote - a surprising showing in a conservative country where only three years ago women were forbidden to work, study or leave the house uncovered.

The vote broke down along ethic lines with Karzai sweeping the board in the Pashtun south and southeast of the country, leading with over 80 per cent of the vote in those provinces.--AFP