Afghan President Hamid Karzai leads the country's presidential race, but not by enough to win an outright majority in the August 20. election and avoid a second round, a new poll released Friday shows, Reuters reported.
The poll, by the U.S.-funded International Republican Institute, showed Karzai winning 44 percent of the vote, with his main challenger, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, winning 26 percent.
With less than a week to go, the two main candidates are criss-crossing the country by helicopter and jet. Karzai flew to the Western city of Herat Friday, while Abdullah was in the central mountain province of Dai Kundi.
Western diplomats have said they are surprised by the closeness of the race, although Karzai remains the front-runner to remain in power, if not with a first round victory then by surviving a second-round run-off six weeks later.
Just staging the election itself would be a feat, and fears that violence or fraud could undermine the vote are as palpable among many Afghans as doubt about the outcome.
The Taliban, stronger than at any time since they were driven from power eight year ago, have vowed to strike polling stations and threatened reprisals against voters.
Violence has surged in the weeks before the vote, with fighters staging a handful of bold attacks on provincial government buildings in the south, and also launching raids in once-quiet areas in the north and west.
In the latest violence, officials said Friday that up to 20 insurgents were killed in two separate incidents south of Kabul, while a rocket fired overnight on the capital fell harmlessly near the airport.
The United Nations says violence and intimidation have already disrupted planning and campaigning in the south, and could prevent many Afghans from casting their ballot.
U.S. commanders nonetheless say they think violence will not be sufficient to prevent a successful vote.
The election is a test for U.S. President Barack Obama's strategy of rushing thousands of extra troops to Afghanistan to tip the balance in an eight-year-old war that was not being won.
Some 30,000 extra U.S. troops have already arrived this year, bringing the total Western force above 100,000 for the first time, including 62,000 Americans.
The overall U.S. and NATO commander, General Stanley McChrystal, is due to release an assessment shortly after the election, which could be followed by a request for more troops.
The new U.S. troops and British forces have launched huge offensives in the south to reclaim Taliban-held territory, taking unprecedented casualties. More Western troops have died in Afghanistan since March than in the entire period from 2001-2004.