UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday called on the freshly-elected president of Zimbabwe and his election opponent to show restraint and for any grievances to go through legal channels.

Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for the secretary-general, told reporters at a regular briefing that Guterres spoke by telephone on Tuesday with Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Nelson Chamisa, president of the Movement for Democratic Change Alliance.

"In his two calls, the secretary-general made clear that he counted on the president of Zimbabwe to ensure that the security forces show maximum restraint," said Haq. "He also encouraged the opposition to pursue their electoral grievances through legal channels.

The secretary-general added that any legal decision taken by the court on the election results would need to be independent.

In his conversations, Guterres "stressed the United Nations' continued support for Zimbabwe in the post-electoral period and his hope that all Zimbabweans will move forward in unity," the spokesman said.

"If there is something that the parties want the United Nations to do of course we are willing to consider that but essentially he (Guterres) was making sure that all the various sides, all the participants in the election will abide by the results and channel any grievances through the electoral processes," Haq said.

While declining to characterize responses of the two leaders, the spokesman said, "I believe the calls were constructive and our hope is that the reassurances provided by the leaders will be borne out, also by their supporters."

Elections for president and members of parliament were held on July 30 and early results touched off violent protests by the opposition in which six people were killed when troops fired on demonstrators.

It was the first balloting for the posts since the downfall of President Robert Mugabe, who was in power for decades.

"We are aware that there are grievances but at the same time we want to make sure that all the grievances are expressed through the electoral process," the spokesman said. "We want political leaders and the population to exercise restraint and to reject any form of violence."