IRANIAN PRESIDENT Mahmoud Ahmadinejad yesterday hailed his contested re-election as a victory for the Iranian people and a defeat for the enemies of the Islamic Republic.
Speaking a day after the country’s Guardian Council confirmed his defeat of challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mr Ahmadinejad sounded a triumphant note as he contemplated a second four-year term in office, promising co-operation to end “the global monopoly” in all areas.
“This election was actually a referendum,” the state IRNA news agency quoted him as saying.
“The Iranian nation were the victors and the enemies . . . failed and couldn’t reach their aims.”
President Ahmadinejad and other hardliners had insisted from the start that the June 12th presidential poll was free and fair – in the face of widespread protests that the results had been rigged and millions of votes “stolen”.
They also blamed foreign governments, especially Britain and the BBC, for fomenting the unrest.
But Monday’s Guardian Council ruling – after a recount of 10 per cent of the votes – dashed any lingering hopes that the result could be changed or annulled, as Mr Mousavi and supporters had demanded.
In a report yesterday, forensic statistician Walter Mebane of the University of Michigan concluded that the poll results “suggest very strongly that there was widespread fraud in which the vote counts for Ahmadinejad were substantially augmented by artificial means”. Mr Ahmadinejad, who was yesterday lavishly praised by senior clerics, is expected to be sworn in for his new term between July 26th and August 19th.
Abolfazl Fateh, head of Mr Mousavi’s information committee, condemned post-election detentions and investigations as “unethical and illegal”.
The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran pressed for the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, to visit Iran or send a special envoy to demand an investigation into the violence. The group said reports from inside Iran indicated that as many as 2,000 people may be under arrest.
In London, the British foreign secretary, David Miliband, told MPs that Britain was working with allies to agree on a united position for dealing with the new Iranian government.
He said the EU would have to impose tougher sanctions on Iran if it did not accept an international offer for talks on its nuclear programme by the end of the year.
On Saturday, nine Iranian staff of the British embassy in Tehran were detained, accused of encouraging protests. Four remain in custody. Britain flatly rejects Tehran’s charge of interfering in Iranian politics. “We are extremely concerned at the continued detention of some of our locally-engaged staff in Tehran,” Mr Miliband said.
“This is unacceptable harassment and intimidation, as European foreign ministers made clear on Sunday.”
He said he had discussed the affair with the Iranian foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki. – (Guardian service)