Washington, June 25 (IANS) Describing Egypt's presidential election as a milestone in country's transition to democracy, the White House Sunday congratulated Egyptian president-elect Mohamed Morsi over his win, Xinhua reported.

Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood party won the presidential election Sunday by defeating his rival Ahmed Shafiq, ex-premier and a senior leader of Hosni Mubarak era, by around one million votes.

In a statement, Jay Carney, spokesperson for the White House, said: We look forward to working together with President-elect Morsi and the government he forms, on the basis of mutual respect, to advance the many shared interests between Egypt and the United States.

We believe that it is important for President-elect Morsi to take steps at this historic time to advance national unity by reaching out to all parties and constituencies in consultations about the formation of a new government, he added.

The new president will take office without a new constitution and parliament.

The ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) reportedly will issue a supplementary constitutional declaration to make arrangements for the coming period.

The SCAF, which took over power in February 2011 after the fall of long-time leader Hosni Mubarak in anti-government protests, has affirmed it would hand over power to the new president before June-end.

Expressing hope for the completion of a transition to a democratically-elected government, Carney stated that We believe it is essential for the Egyptian government to continue to fulfil Egypt's role as a pillar of regional peace, security and stability.