China hopes for smooth election in Afghanistan

China hopes the Afghan presidential election can run smoothly following a senior election commission official's resignation over fraud charges, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said on Tuesday.

Afghan election commission chief secretariat Ziaul Haq Omarkhil resigned on Monday in the wake of allegations by presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah, who accused Omarkhil of fraud and vote rigging in favor of his contender Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai in the June 14 presidential runoff.

"China has noticed the latest development in the election. We hope all parties involved can deal with the problems through dialogue," Hua Chunying said.

China respects the Afghan people's choice and believes a stable and smooth election will help the country to get on the track of peace, stability and development, Hua said.

Preliminary results of the presidential runoff will be announced on July 2, with the final result on July 22, according to officials with the election commission.