Hamid Karzai's main rival for the Afghan presidency, Yunus Qanuni, has conceded defeat with
less than six percent of the vote count remaining.
A spokesman said Qanuni would accept Karzai's victory despite irregularities in the Oct. 9 election - Afghanistan's first ever direct presidential ballot.
"We will accept the result because we do not want to drag the country into crisis," Sayed Hamid Noori told journalists.
"We accept in the interests of the nation, because we don't want to face another crisis," the spokesman replied, when asked if Qanuni was conceding.
With 94.6 percent of the ballot counted, Karzai has 55.3 percent compared to Qanuni's 16.2 percent. Karzai needed 51 percent to avoid a run-off against the second placed finisher.