Kabul , Afghanistan ( CNN ) -- Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah is in the lead with four-fifths of the votes counted in Afghanistan 's landmark presidential elections , the country 's Independent Election Commission said Thursday . About 7 million Afghans voted on April 5 to choose a successor to outgoing President Hamid Karzai , in what will be the country 's first democratic transfer of presidential power . With 82.6 % of the votes counted , Abdullah , a former foreign minister , has 43.8 % of the vote , Independent Election Commission chief Mohammad Yousuf Nooristani said at a news conference Thursday . Ashraf Ghani , with 32.9 % of the vote , is in second place , he said , while Zalmai Rasoul is in third place with 11.1 % of the vote . All the votes should be counted by Saturday , when the initial results will be announced , Nooristani said . The final results will then be declared on May 14 . If no candidate has a majority , then a second round of voting will be held . Nooristani was not yet able to say whether the election would go to a runoff vote or not . Leading contenders . Abdullah and Ghani were seen as the front-runners going into the April 5 ballot . Abdullah , who is associated with the Tajik ethnic group , is partnered with Mohammad Mohaqeq , a leader of the Hazara ethnic group , and he also has a Pashtun on the ticket . An eye doctor by training , Abdullah became Afghanistan 's foreign minister under Karzai . He ran against him in 2009 but dropped out to protest what he saw as large-scale voter fraud . He is considered to be relatively liberal and has made at least one public statement in support of women 's rights . Ghani , who earned his doctorate at Columbia University in the U.S. , is from the Pashtun ethnic group . His running mate is Abdul Rashid Dostum , a leader of the Uzbek ethnic group . Ghani was the country 's finance minister under Karzai . Security issue . Security will be a key issue for whoever is elected president . A series of deadly attacks marked the run-up to the vote , and Kabul was again rocked by violence Thursday when at least three American medical workers in the capital were shot by a policeman guarding a hospital . NATO troops are scheduled to draw down from Afghanistan by the end of the year . Karzai , who is constitutionally required to step down , has refused to sign an agreement to keep international forces in Afghanistan , also known as the Status of Forces Agreement . But the two leading presidential candidates have said they would sign it .
Abdullah Abdullah is in the lead with 82 % of the vote cast , Afghan electoral body says . Candidate Ashraf Ghani is in second place , and Zalmai Rasoul is in third . Afghan electoral body says full vote count will begin Saturday , final results on March 14 . A majority vote will be needed in the country 's first democratic transfer of presidential power .