Obama asks Afghan prez candidates to accept election results

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama has asked the Afghan presidential candidates to publicly endorse their previously agreed political framework and insisted there is no justification for rhetoric that threatens extra-constitutional measures.

Obama talked to Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani over phone and thanked them for their leadership in reaching an agreement to form a national unity government and to accept the outcome of the full audit of the ballots in the June 14 run-off election currently being undertaken by the election commissions, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said.

Abdullah, a former foreign minister, came second in preliminary results to Ghani, but Abdullah said the election was fraudulent and he expected to become the next president.

"He (Obama) commended the two candidates for putting the interests of Afghanistan first and committing to working together as partners in governance," Earnest said.

Noting that the audit is steadily progressing, Obama encouraged both candidates to publically endorse their previously agreed political framework and continue their dialogue on the details of its implementation to ensure the Afghan people have full confidence in the ongoing electoral process and outcome, said a readout of the phone call.

"He reiterated that there is no justification for rhetoric that threatens extra-constitutional measures and urged Dr Abdullah and Dr Ghani to continue to move forward in the spirit of collegiality to maintain national unity during this historic democratic transition," Earnest said.

President Obama indicated that Secretary of State John Kerry would continue his close consultations with the two candidates and Afghan President Hamid Karzai in the days to come, he said.

Obama also reaffirmed the enduring American commitment to the Afghan people and their future, he added.