Iran's Guardian Council, the country's highest legislative body, has admitted some irregularities occurred in the disputed June 12 presidential election.
Abbas-Ali Kadkhodaei, a spokesman for the council, told state-funded broadcaster IRIB on Monday that up to three million votes were under scrutiny, after it was found that the number of votes exceeded the number of eligible voters in 50 cities.
However, he said "it has yet to be determined whether the amount is decisive in the election results".
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the conservative incumbent president, won the election by a wide margin, with 63 per cent of the vote, according to figures from Iran's interior ministry.
Mir Hossein Mousavi, the defeated reformist candidate, received only 34 per cent of the vote, but he and his supporters allege voter fraud and have called for an annulment of the result.
'Western' influence
Tehran, the Iranian capital, has seen unrest and massive street protests since the results were announced on July 13.
Send us your videos and pictures from Iran The government is blaming the crisis on what it calls "terrorists" influenced by the West, and has said it will clamp down on any violent action.
"The first issue is security - no country will deal with other issues and then talk about security," Hassan Ghashghavi, a spokesman for Iran's foreign ministry said on Monday.
"First, security must be there, and then you can talk about elections, freedom, human rights and democracy."
Over the weekend, clashes between police and anti-government protesters left at least 12 people dead and more than 100 wounded - raising the death toll to 19 since the unrest began.
Hundreds arrested
Iranian state radio reported on Monday that more than 450 people were arrested during Saturday's rallies, mostly around Tehran's Azadi square.
Iran unrest online
Social media is playing a crucial role in Iran's crisis.
Browse photos on Faramarz's Flickr stream Forty police officers were also wounded, and 34 government buildings damaged, the Fars news agency reported.
Despite the deaths, arrests, and a warning from Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, the demonstrators have been undeterred.
Mousavi himself renewed calls on Sunday for his supporters to continue to protest.
In a statement published on the website of his Kalameh newspaper, he said that people had the right to protest against "lies and fraud", but also urged them to show restraint as they take to the streets.
"The revolution is your legacy. To protest against lies and fraud is your right. Be hopeful that you will get your right and do not allow others who want to provoke your anger ... to prevail," he said.
The Iranian government, meanwhile, has cracked down on independent media reporting on the protests, imposing severe restrictions on foreign journalists.
No comments:
Post a Comment