KABUL — Afghanistan's election commission said President Hamid Karzai increased his lead over his top challenger and is closer to the important 50 percent threshold.

The commission said today Karzai now has 46.2 percent of votes counted in the country's Aug. 20 presidential election. Top challenger Abdullah Abdullah has 31.4 percent.

The results are based on 35 percent of the country's polling stations, meaning they could still change dramatically. Karzai must reach 50 percent of ballots cast to avoid a runoff.

Results won't be finalized until late September after allegations of fraud are looked at. Accusations of ballot box stuffing and voter intimidation could call the election's legitimacy into question.