Afghan electoral officials to restart vote audit

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Despite lingering disputes, Afghan electoral officials said Thursday that they will resume an audit of the presidential election this weekend after the presidential candidates sparred over how to disqualify ballots amid allegations of massive fraud.

The recount of more than 8 million votes is likely to take weeks, stalling an already much-delayed announcement of a new president to replace Hamid Karzai, the only leader the country has known since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion that ousted the Taliban.