WASHINGTON
U.S. President Barack Obama Tuesday urged Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah not to resort to violence over allegations of fraud in the presidential election, according to White House spokesman Josh Ernst.
"The president made clear, as we have said publicly, that we expect a thorough review of all reasonable allegations of fraud and that there is no justification for resorting to violence or in taking extra constitutional measures," said Ernst of a phone call between Obama and Abdullah.
Abdullah rejected the "fraudulent" preliminary results released by Afghanistan's election commission on Monday, which showed his rival Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai had won the election.
The U.S., however, has been alarmed with reports that he will set up a "parallel government" which could throw Afghanistan into a wave of violence.
Stating that the U.S. have urged the candidates to maintain calm among their supporters, Ernst said they encouraged both candidates and their supporters to allow the process of reviewing the results to work its way through.
"The forceful message that the president delivered was to ask Dr. Abdullah to remain engaged in the process," added Ernst.
U.S. Secretary of State Kerry also called for Afghan electoral institutions to conduct a full and thorough review of all reasonable allegations of irregularities.
"I have noted reports of protests in Afghanistan and of suggestions of a “parallel government” with the gravest concern," Kerry said in a statement released Monday night.
Kerry also said that any action to take power through legal means will cost Afghanistan the financial support and security of the United States and the international community.
In addition to President Obama, Secretary Kerry, James F. Dobbins, Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan and U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan James Cunningham have been in touch with the candidates, the electoral bodies and Afghanistan's political leadership over the past couple of days to try to come to a resolution, according to State Department Spokeswoman Jen Psaki.
Former World Bank economist Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai won Afghanistan's presidential election held on June 14, according to a preliminary vote count released by Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission.
IEC Chairman Ahmad Yusuf Nouristani unveiled the results in Kabul on Monday, showing that Ahmadzai had secured 56.4 percent of the vote, trumping his rival - former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah - in the second round run-off by more than a million votes.
However, Abdullah who received 43.6 percent of the votes, rejected the results claiming that they were fraudulent.
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