WASHINGTON - Amidst tallying of votes after the presidential elections, the White House said it was looking forward to having a productive relationship with the successor of President Hamid Karzai.

At the same time, the White House insisted it did not favour any candidate. "The results will take some time to be tabulated and our perspective is simply that we don’t have a preferred candidate because the future of Afghanistan is up to the Afghans to decide.”

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, addressing a news conference, described the presidential elections as an important milestone. The US commended the millions of Afghan men and women who went to the polls on April 5, he said.

The campaign period over the past two months was full of open and responsible debate among the candidates and the Afghan people turned out in force to choose the direction of their country, he added.

“What’s important about this process is that it was and continues to be Afghan owned. The Afghan people secured this election, they ran this election, and most importantly, they voted in this election. It’s an important milestone,” Carney said.

Also on Monday, the Pentagon praised Afghan national security forces in conducting what it described as a relatively peaceful presidential election.

“April 5, 2014 is a historic day in Afghanistan. Millions of Afghans voted. They did this under the umbrella of protection provided by Afghan security forces. This a great accomplishment and a testament to how far the Afghan national security forces have gone,” Army Col. Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters. (Pajhwok)