TEHRAN,
June 18, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) –
Iran's
presidential elections will go for an unprecedented second round after
none of the hopefuls secured an outright win in the country’s
tightest vote ever, the Interior Ministry said Saturday, June 18,
after counting ended.
Former
president Hashemi Rafsanjani and Tehran mayor Mahmood Ahmadinejad will
face each other in a run-off for Iran's presidency, reported Agence
France-Presse (AFP).
With
virtually every ballot counted, Rafsanjani led with 21.1 percent of
the vote, compared to Ahmadinejad's 19.25 percent, an Interior
Ministry official told reporters.
Former
speaker of the parliament Mehdi Karroubi was lying in third place with
17.46 percent.
Fourth
was ex-police chief Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf with 13.89 percent, and
fifth came reformist former higher education minister Mostafa Moin
with 13.68.
The
two remaining candidates, former state television boss Ali Larijani
and Vice President Mohsen Mehr-Alizadeh, had 5.94 and 4.39 percent
respectively.
After
a lively campaign featuring Western-style television ads and noisy
street rallies, turnout was about 62 percent of Iran's electorate of
47 million, the Interior Ministry said.
Iranian
authorities had hoped for a high turn-out to fend off foreign
criticism that the elections were unfair.
With
none of the candidates winning more than 50 percent of the vote, the
top two -- Rafsanjani and Ahmadinejad -- will face each other in a
second round.
Officials
said that would take place on June 24, although it could perhaps take
place on July 1 if there are logistical difficulties.
To
avoid a run-off, one of the candidates needed to obtain at least 50
percent of ballots cast.
It
was the first time since the 1979 Islamic revolution that a
presidential vote had failed to produce a first-round winner.
Favored
Rafsanjani
 |
|
Iran's
Supreme Leader Khamenei casts his ballot. (Reuters)
|
Hassad
Saeedi, a 25-year-old Moin supporter, told Reuters he would be voting
in the second round for Rafsanjani, the chairman of the powerful
Expediency Council and a veteran politician.
“He
has certainly promised a lot and people say he is the one who can sort
things out.”
Rafsanjani
wants better ties with the West and would be likely to pursue a
pragmatic reform program, liberalizing the economy and reserving
social freedoms without antagonizing the powerful clerical elite,
according to Reuters.
“I
have promised people to continue reforms and I am sure I can deliver
my promises,” he said after voting.
His
campaign portrayed him as the only one with the political savvy and
influence to resolve Iran's nuclear standoff with the West and repair
ties with Washington.
