Iran”s Guardian Council, which oversees national elections, has said it will not annul the results of the country”s controversial June 12 presidential vote, state television reports said.
The landslide re-election of hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on June 12 sparked a week of mass protests amid opposition allegations of ballot fraud. Reformist challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi and other opposition leaders have repeatedly called on the council to annul the results.
“Iran”s Guardian Council rules out the possibility of nullifying the country”s June 12 Presidential election, saying there has been no record of any major irregularity,” the English-language channel Press TV said.
The defeated candidates – Mousavi, pro-reform cleric Mehdi Karoubi and fourth-placed Mohsen Rezaei – had reported over 600 irregularities in the electoral process to the Guardian Council, which consists of six top judges and six senior clerics appointed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
While Western countries have voiced alarm over the situation in Iran, Russia congratulated Ahmadinejad on his victory, and pledged to continue to develop mutually beneficial cooperation and neighborly relations with Tehran.
