AFP: The main reformist candidate defeated in a first round of Iran’s presidential election demanded Monday that the runoff polls be postponed pending a probe into alleged vote rigging. The “first round of the presidential election was contrary to a free and fair election,” Mostafa Moin’s campaign said in a statement. AFP
TEHRAN – The main reformist candidate defeated in a first round of Iran’s presidential election demanded Monday that the runoff polls be postponed pending a probe into alleged vote rigging.
The “first round of the presidential election was contrary to a free and fair election,” Mostafa Moin’s campaign said in a statement.
“Since there were numerous reports of rigged votes and counting, we have filed a complaint and in addition we request the postponement of the second round of the election until all the complaints from all candidates have been answered,” it said.
The statement was addressed to the election supervisory arm of the Guardians Council, a hardline-controlled political watchdog which reformers have alleged was engaged in election irregularities.
Three of the seven candidates who stood in the first round of the election last Friday have complained of irregularities they say were aimed at propelling Tehran’s hardline mayor Mahmood Ahmadinejad into a run-off against moderate conservative cleric Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.
The Moin campaign claimed that “election supervisors purposefully, with a political inclination, were at the ballot boxes in favour of a specific candidate”.
It also pointed to alleged “organised interference by the military forces before the voting, during the voting and after the voting, thus putting into question the integrity of the election.”
Iranian authorities, meanwhile, agreed to recount a small selection of ballot boxes.
“The Guardians Council, despite the fact that it has not received any complaints from the candidates of breaches in the prescribed time, will recount to produce a more accurate result,” state television reported.
It said the recount had to be completed by 6:00 pm (1330 GMT) Monday, so the second round of the election could go ahead as scheduled next Friday.
