The second round was required after a U.N.-backed investigation into the vote found widespread fraud and a third of Mr.Karzai's ballots were declared invalid, reversing his outright victory.

VOA: standard.2009.10.28

They are seeking the Democratic Party nomination for the November election, and were forced into a runoff when neither received more than 50 percent of the vote in a primary vote last month.

VOA: standard.2010.06.08