Former Afghan foreign minister leads early vote count in presidential election By CNN Staff

                                                       Presidential candidate Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, center, and his running mates Mohammed Mohaqiq,                                                                right, and Mohammad Khan, left, show their fingers marked with ink after casting their ballots at a                                                              polling station in Kabul.(CNN) -- In Afghanistan's historic presidential election, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah is leading the early returns from last week's voting, the country's Independent Election Commission chairman said Sunday.

Abdullah has 41.9% of the vote, according to Ahmad Yousuf Nuristani, who cautioned that it was too early to tell if a single candidate would get the majority of the vote needed to win the presidency without a runoff.

Former Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani was second with 37.6% of the vote, officials said.

Watch CNN's Christiane Amanpour's recent interview with Ashraf Ghani

Ballots are being hand-counted across the nation, and results will take time to tally.

About 7 million Afghans voted in the elections on April 5, in the country's first democratic transfer of presidential power, choosing a successor to outgoing President Hamid Karzai. He is constitutionally required to step down.

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A large number of Afghans turned out last week, in the third election since the fall of the Taliban in 2001. Voter registration started almost a year ago and 2.5 million names were added to the electoral roll. According to the election commission, polling hours were extended to allow everyone in line to vote.

"Today I came here to select my next president and I hope whoever it is ... is a good person, who will help the people and bring changes to Afghanistan," a voter at a polling station told CNN.

Another, in Kabul, said the president must secure the war-torn nation.

"We need a good president so the bombings and war stops," the voter said. "I want my children to go to school without fear.

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