Iran's election

Looks like a pretty solid win. Disappointing but not very uncertain.

Iranian vote draws high turnout, but results in dispute



Josh Wingrove
From Saturday's Globe and Mail

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 01:30:41 EDT



Iran's elections agency and state media declared incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the winner of yesterday's presidential election, but his moderate opponent, Mir-Hossein Mousavi, appeared unwilling to accept the results and alleged "irregularities" among the millions of votes cast.

Voter turnout approached record levels yesterday as rural and traditional Iranians supported Mr. Ahmadinejad, 52, against Mr. Mousavi, his primary challenger and a former prime minister whose candidacy was built on strong support among youth and women voters.

Last night, Mr. Ahmadinejad was leading with 65 per cent of the 28 million counted votes, to Mr. Mousavi's 31 per cent, state officials said.

It was a blow to the dreams of the so-called "green tsunami" or Mr. Mousavi's supporters, named for his campaign colour, who hoped for greater liberties at home and an improved worldwide reputation for Iran. In Tehran, where educated and affluent voters were expected to flock to Mr. Mousavi, wait times at voting stations topped one hour. U.S. President Barack Obama said yesterday he saw the "possibility of change."
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