Sunday, June 28, 2009 TEHRAN: Political deadlock continued in Iran as opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi on Saturday rejected a panel set up to hold a partial recount of votes in the disputed presidential election. Refusing to be cowed by a raid on the offices of a party that backed him or by an aide turning against him and blaming him for deaths during protests, Mousavi again demanded a full re-run of the election. "Limiting the probe into complaints about electoral irregularities to recounting 10 percent of the ballot boxes cannot attract people's trust and convince public opinion about the results," the moderate candidate said on his campaign website. Top political arbitration body the Expediency Council urged all candidates to cooperate with the panel, set up by electoral watchdog the Guardians Council. But Mousavi said, "Reaching a just judgement is not within the domain of the Guardians Council and above all a board which is appointed by this council. "I insist again on cancelling the election (results) as the most suitable way out of the problem," he said. The issue should be referred to a body which observes (Islamic) Sharia law, has legal status and is independent, said the former prime minister, who trailed in 11 million votes behind incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad according to official results from the June 12 election. The Guardians Council said that although it has ordered a partial recount, no "major irregularities" have so far been found and the elections were the "cleanest we have had."
Sunday, June 28, 2009 TEHRAN: Political deadlock continued in Iran as opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi on Saturday rejected a panel set up to hold a partial recount of votes in the disputed presidential election. Refusing to be cowed by a raid on the offices of a party that backed him or by an aide turning against him and blaming him for deaths during protests, Mousavi again demanded a full re-run of the election. "Limiting the probe into complaints about electoral irregularities to recounting 10 percent of the ballot boxes cannot attract people's trust and convince public opinion about the results," the moderate candidate said on his campaign website. Top political arbitration body the Expediency Council urged all candidates to cooperate with the panel, set up by electoral watchdog the Guardians Council. But Mousavi said, "Reaching a just judgement is not within the domain of the Guardians Council and above all a board which is appointed by this council. "I insist again on cancelling the election (results) as the most suitable way out of the problem," he said. The issue should be referred to a body which observes (Islamic) Sharia law, has legal status and is independent, said the former prime minister, who trailed in 11 million votes behind incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad according to official results from the June 12 election. The Guardians Council said that although it has ordered a partial recount, no "major irregularities" have so far been found and the elections were the "cleanest we have had."
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