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Wednesday, Jun 17, 2009
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Iran’s council to conduct partial vote recount

Atul Aneja

Presidential election is fraudulent, says Mousavi in written allegation

Street protests have rocked Tehran since June 13
Government organises huge rally in downtown Tehran

DUBAI: Iran’s embattled government has taken one more step to defuse tensions in Tehran by agreeing to a partial recount of the votes polled in the Friday’s disputed presidential election.

The supervisory Guardian Council announced on Tuesday that it was ready to go ahead with a vote recount in the disputed ballot boxes.

“We are ready to recount those boxes that presidential candidates claim to have been cheated,” council spokesman Abbas-Ali Kadkhodayi said. He did not rule out the possibility of cancelling the results, acknowledging that the council was empowered to do so.

The move follows the Monday’s order by Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to the Council to probe written allegations by Mir Hosain Mousavi that the presidential election was fraudulent.

Mr. Mousavi, who emerged as the nearest rival to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the election, is seeking the annulment of the vote, and his call has been reinforced by street protests that have rocked the streets of Tehran since June 13.

Seven persons were killed after plainclothes militia opened fire at a group that attacked their station after crowds attending Mr. Mousavis mammoth rally on Monday began to disperse.

With martyrdom venerated in local culture, these deaths could add further grist to the snowballing protests.

Reinforcing the polarisation that has deepened in Iran in the aftermath of the election, the government organised a huge rally on Tuesday in downtown Tehran.

State media reported that the purpose of the rally, in which hundreds of thousands participated, was to demand punishment for those who indulged in rioting during Mr. Mousavi’s Monday rally.

Mr. Mousavi’s supporters were also earlier slated to congregate at the same spot, raising prospects of clashes with government supporters.

However, Mr. Mousavi said on his website that he would not participate in the rally and advised followers to “not fall in the trap of street riots” and “exercise self-restraint.”

Curbs on media

With media beaming footage of the protests the world over, the authorities have reportedly reinforced curbs on the media. Iran’s Press TV is reporting that Mohammad-Ali Abtahi, an adviser to defeated presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi was arrested on Tuesday following violent post-election protests.

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