Iran election rivals both declare victory

 

                                                             Debates between the rivals have triggered popular interest in the vote

The two main candidates in Iran's presidential election have claimed victory after voting closed in a poll that has drawn a large turnout.

State media said hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had won, and officials said he had taken 66% of the votes with 61% so far counted.

But reformist challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi told a news conference that he had won by a substantial margin.

Mr Mousavi also complained of a number of voting irregularities.

He said there had been a shortage of ballot papers and millions of people had been denied the right to vote.

His election monitors were not allowed enough access to polling stations, he added, saying he would deal seriously with any fraud.

"[We] are waiting for the counting of votes to officially end and explanations of these irregularities to be given," Mr Mousavi said.

"We expect to celebrate with people soon. We hope that authorities in charge do their work in this regard."

Surge of interest

Electoral commission officials said that Mr Ahmadinejad so far had gained around two-thirds of the votes.

The BBC's Jon Leyne in Tehran says most of the early votes counted came from rural areas, where Mr Ahmadinejad is considered to be stronger.

The early rival declarations of victory could be a case of the two candidates attempting to stake their claims before the real arguments begin, he says.

There had been a surge of interest in Iran's presidential election, with unprecedented live television debates between the candidates and rallies attended by thousands.

There were long queues of voters at polling stations, with officials predicting an "unprecedented" turnout as they extended voting hours by several hours to accommodate the queues on Friday.

Four candidates contested the election, with Mohsen Razai and Mehdi Karroubi trailing the two main contenders.

If no candidate gets 50% in the first round, the two front-runners will face a run-off vote.

The result will be watched closely outside Iran - in the US, Israel, and European capitals - for any hint of a possible shift in the country's attitude to the rest of the world, BBC diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus says.

The timing of the election is also crucial, as the US push for a new policy of engagement with Tehran cannot really get going until the outcome of the election is clear, our correspondent adds.

US President Barack Obama said as the polling drew to a close that he was "excited" by the robust debate taking place in the country.

Women's interest

President Ahmadinejad draws support mainly from the urban poor and rural areas, while his rivals have huge support among the middle classes and the educated urban population.

 

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8098305.stm