U.S. reiterates impartial stance for Afghan presidential elections

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WASHINGTON, June 24 (Xinhua) -- As President Hamid Karzai is seeking another term in office, the Obama administration on Wednesday reiterated its "impartial" stance for the upcoming Afghan presidential elections.

"The U.S. does not support or oppose any candidate in the upcoming elections in Afghanistan. We are impartial," said State Department Spokesman Ian Kelly.

"Our goal is to support credible and secure elections and to help provide a level playing field for all candidates. We support the right of the people of Afghanistan to choose their own leaders," Kelly told reporters at the daily press briefing.

Karzai, who has served Afghan leader since the Taliban regime's collapse in the U.S.-led war on terror following the 9/11 terror attack in the United States and won the first presidential elections in 2004, is still expected to win the August 20 elections.

But he has to defeat 40 other candidates, among them are former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah and former Finance Minister Asharf Ghani. The two cabinet members have been viewed as Karzai's main rivals.

After the fall of Taliban regime, the United States has been committed to ensuring a stable, democratic and economically successful Afghanistan.

U.S. President Barack Obama, in a statement responding to the elections, said that the United States "seeks an enduring partnership with the Afghan people, not with any particular Afghan leader," and that Afghanistan "needs to work with all her neighbors to promote security and opportunity in the region."

In the New Strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan unveiled in March, Obama vowed to send more combat troops and civilian aids to Afghanistan to "disrupt, dismantle and defeat" al-Qaida and Taliban militants.

The United States has decided to offer 40 million U.S. dollars aid for Afghanistan's presidential elections.