NEW YORK (AFP) –
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told her Afghan counterpart Monday that President Hamid Karzai's government must earn its people's trust by tackling charges of election fraud, a US official said.

Clinton told Afghan Foreign Minister Rangeen Dadfar Spanta during a meeting in New York that he is "a strong voice for the need for the rule of law and good governance," the State Department official told reporters.

"She said that it was really important that the government earn the trust of the Afghan people, letting the process play out on elections," that were held on August 20, the official said on the condition of anonymity.

"The foreign minister agreed about the need to earn the trust of the Afghan people," the US official said.

"The Afghans have to do this, play out this process of dealing with the allegations of fraud really in the next few weeks," he said.

Based on preliminary results, incumbent president Karzai has 54.6 percent of the votes declared valid, against 27.8 percent for Abdullah Abdullah, Karzai's main rival and the former foreign minister.

The result however will not be finalized until several electoral fraud investigations are resolved.

If a significant number of votes are invalidated, Karzai's score could edge below 50 percent, forcing him into a run-off vote with Abdullah.

Abdullah vowed on Sunday to monitor investigations into alleged electoral fraud "to the end."

The Washington Post reported on Monday that the United States and NATO countries with forces in Afghanistan have told Karzai's government they believe he will be re-elected despite problems with the vote.

Washington and the NATO countries also told the Karzai administration that they will support the Afghan leader's policy of seeking to get Taliban fighters to defect, the Post reported, citing unnamed US officials.