Karzai's tally by Wednesday evening was 422,137, to Abdullah's 330,711.

The commission has said it expected to release the final results around Sep 17.

The figures mean Karzai might not get enough votes for an absolute majority in the first round. That would mean a run-off in early October between the top two candidates.

Abdullah has accused the Karzai camp of electoral fraud. By Tuesday almost 800 complaints had been made concerning the election and the count.