Iran electoral watchdog says no fraud in vote
Guardians Council spokesman says 'after 10 days of examination, we did not see any major irregularities. We have had no fraud in any presidential election, and this was the cleanest one we have had'. Meanwhile, G8 nations 'deplore post-electoral violence which led to the loss of lives of Iranian civilians'
The spokesman of Iran's electoral watchdog, the Guardians Council, Abbasali Kadkhodai said that there was no fraud in the June 12 presidential election that saw Mahmoud Ahmadinejad win a new four-year term.
"After 10 days of examination, we did not see any major irregularities," Kadkhodai told the official IRNA news agency.
"We have had no fraud in any presidential election and this one was the cleanest election we have had. I can say with certainty that there was no fraud in this election."
Kadkhodai said the examinations were almost complete, and once they are final, a report will be issued to the public on the matter.
A few days ago Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei instructed the council to extend the deadline for candidates to file complaints.
According to Kadkhodai, "The extension is meant to give the candidates' supporters a stronger feeling of security and create trust."
The Guardians Council is the body that supervises the election process in Iran, and is responsible for ratifying the final results.
Defeated reformist candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi announced on Thursday: “The recent pressure on me is aimed at making me withdraw from my stance of annulling election.”
Speaking before a group of sociologists who met with him to discuss the state of the post-election Iranian society, Mousavi added, “Given the current situation, the government will face a crisis of political legitimacy.”
Mousavi stressed that "the people must feel that their demands are being met. We must also get through this disturbing situation". He added, however, that he could not be expected to say things that he doesn't believe in to solve the crisis.
"I will not say that black is white or that white is black. We must be honest. Our main resource is honesty with the public," he said.
Meanwhile, the foreign ministers of eight leading industrialized nations (G8) net in Italy on Friday and announced their "basic lines of a text" reacting to Iran's internal conflict.
The Group of Eight powers deplored violence in Iran after its disputed election and urged Tehran to settle the crisis soon through democratic dialogue, according to the final draft statement seen by Reuters.
"We deplore post-electoral violence which led to the loss of lives of Iranian civilians and urge Iran to respect fundamental human rights including freedom of expression...," G8 foreign ministers said in the statement.
On the Middle East, the G8 called on all parties to "Re-enter direct negotiations on all standing issues consistent with the roadmap" And it called for a freeze in Jewish settlement construction on the West Bank.
Reuters contributed to this report
