Posted on 06/18/2005 10:23:30 AM PDT by freedom44
TEHRAN (AFP) - Iranian reformist presidential election contender Mehdi Karoubi alleged that the vote had been "rigged" by powerful hardliners supporting Tehran's right-wing Mayor Mahmood Ahmadinejad.
Not long afterward, the interior ministry announced that Ahmadinejad had come in second behind moderate conservative cleric Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and that the two would face a run-off for the top job.
"There has been bizarre interference. Money has changed hands," Karoubi told reporters in an unprecedented allegation.
"They can go and file a lawsuit against me, but I will give all the names of the people in power in my defence," he said Saturday.
He appealed to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to "appoint an honest and trusted committee" to probe the activities of the Guardians Council -- an unelected political watchdog -- the interior ministry, the Revolutionary Guards and the Basij militia.
"The Guardians Council would have appointed Ahmadinejad without any election," he fumed, saying "some people have been denied their rights".
Ahmadinejad's strong showing came as a major shock. He polled 19.25 percent of the vote, compared with 21.1 for Rafsanjani.
"I see this election as being rigged," charged Karoubi, who came in third, with 17.46 percent.
Karoubi also claimed he had "tapes" that implicated Revolutionary Guard commanders, and said some members of the hardline Basij militia had been allowed to vote twice.
In early counting, the former parliament speaker was placed first, but said "suddenly one of the candidates had one million more votes and the Guardians Council showed up on television and announced this."
He also pointed to a headline in the prominent right-wing Kayhan newspaper which went to the press late Friday, before the count began, that predicted what looks set to be the result.
"The interior ministry and the Guardians Council are both under accusation," Karoubi said, labelling the Council as "puppets" of what he said was a "network".
The main reformist candidate, Mostafa Moin, also had a disappointed showing and his camp said they had also noted irregularities.
"In our meeting today we protested over the presence of Basiji supervisors in the polling centers, and Dr. Moin will issue a statement," his spokeswoman, Elaheh Koulaie, told the official news agency IRNA.
Mayor Daley in a short statement today said, "Once again
free and fair elections have taken place in our city and
state, and we are proud to have John F. Kennedy as our President."
"It is enough that the people know there was an election. The people who cast the votes decide nothing. The people who count the votes decide everything."
Joseph Stalin
What was the vote count for "none of the above?" Think this will be the tipping point?
Jimmy Carter should have been there to kiss it and make it all well.
Carter would have then proceeded to pronounce the election was better than any held in the United States.
Of course it was rigged!
The media put so much attention on Moin and Qalibaf, that Ahmadinejad kind of slipped into the background.
TEHRAN (AFP) - Iranian reformist presidential election contender Mehdi Karoubi alleged that the vote had been "rigged" by powerful hardliners supporting Tehran's right-wing Mayor Mahmood Ahmadinejad.
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The media is skewering the term right wing. Iran is a left wing country. 80% of all industry is governmetn controlled. Socialism is teh problem, not the solution.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1414025/posts
"The government needs to prepare the ground for private sector growth to absorb the workforce, but the problem is that 80 percent of the economy is controlled by the government. The government is the biggest rival of the private sector."
Hey get a life. Third parties can't see the light of day here during debates either.
I figure it's written in code, in an effort to keep the western leftist moonbats from organizing protests on his behalf.
DUmmies will be claiming rove brought diebold over to Iran
LOL That or expect to see "Free Ahmadinejad" tee shirts for sale at every good protest.
Ahmadinejad was part of a death squad in early 90s.
He killed so many Iranian dissidents.
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