Originally posted by Canuck_Centaur:
It's not really surprising that Achmadinejerk would want to cling to power. However, if the reformist candidate Mousavi wins, will this mean new beginning in relations between Iran and the US/the West?
++http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/090612/world/international_us_iran_election
quote:
Both sides claim victory in Iran election
39 minutes ago
By Parisa Hafezi and Zahra Hosseinian
TEHRAN (Reuters) - State media declared President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the winner of Iran's election on Friday, but challenger Mirhossein Mousavi alleged irregularities and claimed victory for himself.
The head of the state election commission said Ahmadinejad was leading Mousavi by 69 percent to 28 percent with about 19 percent of ballots counted.
The official news agency IRNA said: "Dr Ahmadinejad, by winning most votes at the 10th presidential election, has secured his victory."
Mousavi had earlier tried to pre-empt official announcements by calling a news conference at which he alleged there had been irregularities, including a shortage of ballot papers.
"I am the definite winner of this presidential election," he declared.
There was no immediate response from Mousavi to the election commission's figures.
A bitterly fought campaign has generated intense excitement inside Iran and provoked strong interest around the world, with policymakers looking for signs of a change of approach by Tehran, whose ties with the West worsened under Ahmadinejad.
A victory for Mousavi could help ease tensions with the West, which is concerned about Tehran's nuclear ambitions, and improve chances of engagement with U.S. President Barack Obama, who has talked about a new start in ties with Tehran.
Mousavi, a former prime minister, said many people had not been able to cast their ballots even after voting was extended by four hours.
(...)
Under the election rules, if no candidate wins 50 percent of the votes, a run-off will be held on June 19 between the two front-runners.
(...)
Although Ahmadinejad, 52, says his government has revived economic growth and curbed price rises, inflation and high unemployment were the main campaign issues. Official inflation is around 15 percent.
Social issues, such as strict dress codes for women, as well as Iran's ties with the outside world, also featured in the campaign but the outcome of the vote will not bring a major shift in Iran's foreign policy, which is determined by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The United States has had no ties with Iran since shortly after the revolution but Obama said in Washington that the United States had "tried to send a clear message that we think there is the possibility of change" in relations.
Mousavi, 67, rejects Western demands that Iran halt uranium enrichment but analysts say he would bring a different approach to Iran-U.S. ties and talks on Tehran's nuclear program, which the West fears is a cover to build bombs. Iran denies this.
(...)
The three-week election campaign was marked by mudslinging, with Ahmadinejad accusing his rivals of corruption. They said he was lying about the state of the economy.
Ahmadinejad's election rivals, who also include liberal cleric Mehdi Karoubi and former Revolutionary Guard leader Mohsen Rezaie, have urged the Interior Ministry and Khamenei to ensure there is no vote rigging.
Mousavi's wife Zahra Rahnavard broke new ground in the conservative Islamic state by actively campaigning for her husband, a move hailed by women's rights activists.
(...)
