US Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry on Wednesday conceded defeat in the White House race and said he offered President George W. Bush congratulations for the victory in the election.

"Earlier today, I spoke to President Bush and I offered him and Laura our congratulations on their victory. We had a good conversation, and we talked the danger of division in our country and the need, the desperate need for unity, for finding the common ground, coming together. Today I hope that we can begin the healing," Kerry told supporters in a ceremony held in his hometown Boston, Massachusetts.

Kerry said the election outcome should be decided by voters, not by a protracted legal process.

"I would not give up this fight if there was a chance we would prevail. But it is now clear that even when all the provisional ballots are counted -- which they will be -- there won't be enough outstanding votes for us to be able to win Ohio, and therefore we cannot win this election," Kerry said.

Earlier Wednesday, Kerry phoned Bush and conceded defeat in the White House race. This would enable Bush to serve a second term of four more years from one of the longest and costliest campaigns in the US history.

Kerry made the difficult move after realizing that he could never overturn the six-figure disadvantage in make-or-brake state of Ohio with 20 electoral votes.