Former Afghan foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah and former finance minister Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai will compete in presidential runoff on June 14, Independent Election Commission (IEC) chairman said on Thursday.

"According to the law, the second round must be held two weeks after the announcement of final result of the first round of the presidential polls. However, due to some challenges and problems the IEC set June 14 as the date for the second round of vote," IEC chief Ahmad Yousuf Nuristani told reporters.

According to the final results of the April 5 presidential election, Abdullah Abdullah secured 45 percent of some 7 million votes, Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai won 31.6 percent, Nuristani announced.

The two front-runners entered runoff after none of the eight candidates obtained an outright victory or more than half of the valid votes in the first round.

The election campaign will take place from May 22 to June 11. The preliminary results will be clear on July 2 while the final result of the runoff will be announced on July 22, Nuristani said.

Nearly 7 million Afghans of some 12 million eligible voters cast their ballots amid Taliban threat of violence to elect a successor to the outgoing President Hamid Karzai who has ruled the war-torn country since the Taliban regime was toppled in late 2001.

Local analysts said that insecurity was the biggest challenge for the upcoming polls. The Taliban insurgent group, which opposes the polls, had launched a rebel spring offensive on Monday.

Nearly two dozens of civilians and security forces were killed and about 100 others wounded in Taliban-led attacks in April 5 election.

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