Recount Ordered at Some Sites

A U.N.-backed monitoring body has ordered the Afghan election commission to recount ballots from 10 percent of the country’s polling stations. Ordered after allegations of fraud, the recount raises the possibility that President Hamid Karzai’s lead could drop below 50 percent, which would require a runoff between him and the top challenger, Abdullah Abdullah. The order affects stations that had 100 percent turnout or where one candidate had more than 95 percent of the vote—about 2,500 stations in total.