WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama has offered to continue America’s partnership with the new Afghan government as Afghans voted to seek a successor to President Hamid Karzai.

Once cordial relations between the Obama and Karzai administrations deteriorated rapidly in recent months as the Afghan leader refused to sign an agreement needed to keep US and allied troops in his country after 2014.

The United States hopes that Saturday’s elections in Afghanistan will bring a new leadership which will not only sign the agreement but will also continue to work with Washington for maintaining stability in the region.

The elections promise to “usher in the first democratic transfer of power in Afghanistan’s history,” said President Obama in a statement issued by his office on Sunday.

He also noted that the elections were another important milestone in “Afghans taking full responsibility for their country as the United States and our partners draw down our forces”.

The United States and its allies plan to withdraw most of their troops from Afghanistan by the end of this year but also want to keep a small residual force after 2014 as well to help Afghan deal with the insurgents.

President Karzai, while acknowledging the need for continued international support to the Afghan forces says that the required agreement should be signed by the future Afghan president. He also claims that the US-led coalition is there to protect its own interests and not that of the Afghan people.

“These elections are critical to securing Afghanistan’s democratic future, as well as continued international support,” said President Obama while underlining the importance of Saturday’s elections.

“We look to the Afghan electoral bodies to carry out their duties in the coming weeks to adjudicate the results — knowing that the most critical voices on the outcome are those of Afghans themselves,” he added.

While commending the Afghan people, security forces, and election officials on the high voter-turnout, Mr Obama also recalled “many Americans — military and civilian — who have sacrificed so much to support the Afghan people as they take responsibility for their own future”.

The US continued to support a sovereign, stable, unified, and democratic Afghanistan, and looked forward to “continuing our partnership with the new government chosen by the Afghan people on the basis of mutual respect and mutual accountability”, he added.

US Secretary of State John Kerry said in a separate message that the vote demonstrated “the fierce determination of the millions of voters undeterred by violence and threats of violence has been remarkable”.

Now the international community should “give the Afghan electoral bodies the time they need to do their work in processing the outcome of these elections,” he said. “The US remains ready to work with the next president of Afghanistan,” Mr Kerry said.