KABUL: Afghan election returns released yesterday put incumbent Hamid Karzai on course for a single round victory, but a UN-backed watchdog said it had found "clear and convincing evidence of fraud" and ordered a partial recount.

The latest data from the Independent Election Commission effectively put Karzai and the Afghan election authorities on a collision course with an international community increasingly sceptical of the outcome of an election it paid for.

With 91.6 percent of polling stations counted, the Independent Election Commission reported Karzai ahead with 54.1 percent of the vote to 28.3 percent for his main challenger, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah.