Iran rejects claims of voter fraud

Iran rejects claims of voter fraud
Iranian Interior Minister Sadeq Mahsouli says there has been no 'written complaint' about voter fraud.

Iranian Interior Minister Sadeq Mahsouli has declared that the 10th presidential elections were conducted in a manner that ruled out the possibility of voter fraud.

In a press conference at the Interior Ministry on Saturday, Mahsouli put the number of the total votes cast in the elections at 39,165,191, suggesting the heavy turnout to be a victory for the nation and not for a specific candidate.

The figures bring to around 85 percent the total participation in the elections. The total number of people eligible to vote had been estimated to be over 46 million.

While officially pronouncing Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the winner of the presidential elections with a whopping 24,527,516 votes, Mahsouli dismissed claims that the elections were rigged.

"No violations that may have influenced the vote have been reported, and we have received no written complaint," he said in response to a question posed by an Italian reporter.

He explained that there may have been some tensions between the representatives of the presidential hopefuls but added that there is no evidence to suggest that the issues of contention have led to violations.

His remarks came after Moussavi described the official count as a 'sleight of hand' by those in charge of the crucial election.

According to the Interior Ministry, Ahmadinejad received around 62 percent of the votes while Mir-Hossein Moussavi managed to win nearly 33 percent with 13,216,411 votes.

The two other candidates -- Mohsen Rezaei and Mehdi Karroubi -- won 1.7 and 0.85 percent respectively.

In landslide victory, Ahmadinejad re-elected

The final results of Iran's closely-contested 10th presidential election indicate that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has won a landslide victory.

"Of 39,165,191 votes counted (85 percent), Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won the election with 24,527,516 (62.63 percent)," Interior Minister Sadeq Mahsouli told reporters on Saturday.

Mir-Hossein Mousavi came in second with 13,216,411 votes (33.75 percent), he added.

The two were followed by Mohsen Rezaei with 678,240 votes (1.73 percent) and Mehdi Karroubi with 333,635 votes (0.85 percent), the minister said.

He put the void ballots at 409,389 (1.04 percent).

Over 46 million Iranians aged 18 and older were eligible to vote in Friday's presidential election.

Supreme Leader Hails Iran's Democratic Electoral System

TEHRAN (FNA)- Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei lauded the democratic system of holding elections in Iran, saying people's vote is of paramount importance and plays the main role in the Islamic Republic's election system.


Addressing thousands of people at the mausoleum of Imam Khomeini, the late Founder of the Islamic Republic, Supreme Leader also called for a massive turnout in the upcoming presidential election, and said all the people should make efforts to protect the Islamic Revolution and thwart enemies' plots to portray Iran's elections as undemocratic.

He also cautioned the presidential candidates against slandering each other in election campaigns and debates to garner support of the people.

The 10th Presidential Election in Iran is due to be held on June 12. Four applicants have qualified to stand the upcoming presidential election, including incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, former Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi Khamene, ex-Parliament Speaker Mehdi Karroubi and Principlist politician and former chief commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) and Expediency Council Secretary Mohsen Rezai Mir-Qaed.

The candidates officially started their campaign on May 22, which will last for 20 days.

The Iranian interior ministry has said the final results of the presidential election will be declared a day after the event, i.e. June 13.

Iranian officials have said that 46.2 million Iranians are eligible to vote.