In Afghanistan, preparations for second round of Presidential elections have already begun even as the final certified results for August 20 elections are awaited. A UN team supporting the election commission in its latest report said that it has already ordered election materials including ballot papers and indelible ink, should the runoff between top two candidates is required. The report said that these materials will be in place for second round, if required, in third week of October. The advance preparation has been necessitated as onset of winter makes many areas inaccessible and elections will be difficult to organize beyond October. Incumbent President Mr. Hamid Karzai has got 54.6 percent votes in the preliminary results announced last week but final results depend on adjudication of several fraud complaints and sample recounting of votes at around 12 percent of polling centers. The process for sample recount has begun and ballot boxes will be brought to capital Kabul for recounting and audit in presence of observer groups and candidate representatives. If the process leads to Mr. Karzai’s percentage dipping below fifty, then he faces runoff against his closest rival Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, who has alleged of massive fraud during elections.