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Landslide for Ahmadinejad

Atul Aneja

The Iranian President secures 62.6 per cent of the vote

— PHOTO: AP

EMERGES STRONGER: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has swept the polls, gestures to supporters at his final election campaign rally on June 10 in western Tehran.

TEHRAN: Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad secured a landslide victory in the presidential polls on Saturday, trouncing his nearest rival Mir-Hossein Mousavi.

The results declared by the Interior Ministry said Mr. Ahmadinejad got 62.6 per cent of the vote. Mr. Mousavi took only 33.75 per cent, belying expectations of a much better performance generated by his high voltage campaign.

Irregularities alleged

There was sporadic violence and allegations of electoral irregularities in the polls held on Friday.

The website of the President thanked the people “for opening a golden page in Iran’s history by participating massively in the June 12 elections.”

Mr. Mousavi rejected the results and threatened to unveil, what he called the “secrets” behind “this perilous process.”

Tension had built up in parts of Tehran, once it became evident that Mr. Ahmadinejad had taken an unassailable lead. Soon clashes broke out near the Interior Ministry, where the results were being announced.

Police attacked protesters, who had set fire to tyres outside the Ministry building, triggering chaotic, pitched battles. This correspondent saw white police vans and emergency vehicles, including ambulances, stationed at a prominent square not far from the Ministry, in anticipation of unrest.

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, who has the final word on state matters, described the outcome as “divine assessment” and urged all the candidates to support the President. In a televised address, after it was announced that an unprecedented 85 per cent turnout had been recorded, he said: “I assume that enemies intend to eliminate the sweetness of the election with their hostile provocation.”

While analysts have been surprised by the heavy margin with which the incumbent President has won, Mr. Ahmadinejad’s supporters point out that his victory is the true assertion of “people’s power.”

During his four-year tenure, Mr. Ahmadinejad extended micro-credit to small businesses and expanded the health care net to include larger numbers among the poor.

He is also credited with initiating “justice shares” which allowed the less affluent to become stakeholders in private industry.

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