Iran election annulment ruled out

BayBak, Azerbaijan | 1432 days ago | Tuesday, 23rd June , 2009 , 11:19 [am] | Azerbaijan

Iran’s legislative body, the Guardian Council, has said there were no major polling irregularities in the 12 June election and ruled out an annulment.

Opposition supporters called for the vote to be set aside and the elections re-run amid claims of vote tampering.

Iran’s legislative body, the Guardian Council, has said there were no major polling irregularities in the 12 June election and ruled out an annulment.

Opposition supporters called for the vote to be set aside and the elections re-run amid claims of vote tampering.

But Guardian Council spokesman Abbas Ali Kadkhoda’i was quoted on state television as saying there was “no major fraud or breach in the election”.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon earlier called for an end to violence.

Mr Ban urged the authorities in Iran to respect fundamental civil rights, “especially the freedom of assembly and expression”, and end arrests.

His comments came as there were further clashes in the capital Tehran.

English-language Press TV reported the Guardian Council’s rejecting an annulment on Tuesday.

On Monday, it had conceded there had been voting irregularities in 50 districts, including local vote counts that exceeded the number of eligible voters.

However, it said they were not enough to affect the overall result and incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had indeed won by a landslide.

The council’s spokesman said most of the irregularities happened before the election, not during or after voting.

One of the beaten candidates, pro-reform cleric Mehdi Karoubi, had called for the council to annul the election.

“Instead of wasting time on recounting some ballot boxes… cancel the vote,” he said in a letter to the council.

On Monday, some 1,000 people gathered in Haft-e Tir Square in Tehran despite a warning from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards against holding unapproved rallies.

A spokesman for Mr Ban said he had been following the situation in Iran with “growing concern” and was dismayed by the post-election violence, particularly the use of force against civilians.

A statement said: “He calls on the authorities to respect fundamental civil and political rights, especially the freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and freedom of information.”

He called on Iran’s government and opposition to resolve their differences peacefully through dialogue and legal means.

“He urges an immediate stop to the arrests, threats and use of force. The secretary general reiterates his hope that the democratic will of the people of Iran will be fully respected,” the statement read.

The Revolutionary Guards, an elite armed force, vowed to crack down on new street protests over the presidential election results.

And Basij militiamen wielding clubs were brought in to reinforce the police.

On Friday, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei banned protests, prompting street violence in which at least 10 people died.

Severe reporting restrictions placed on the BBC and other foreign media in Iran mean protest reports cannot be verified independently.

Election results show Mr Ahmadinejad won the 12 June election by a landslide, taking 63% of the vote, almost double that of Mir Hossein Mousavi, his nearest rival.

An independent British analysis of the disputed election results has found irregularities in the reported turnout, as well as “implausible” swings in the vote in favour of Mr Ahmadinejad.

Analysts from St Andrew’s University and the Chatham House think-tank said votes in favour of Mr Ahmadinejad in a third of the provinces would have required an “unlikely scenario” of voting patterns.bbc