IRAN’S SUPREME leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei yesterday agreed to a request from the powerful Guardian Council to extend the deadline for receiving complaints from defeated candidates in the presidential election that returned Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power earlier this month.
“The supreme leader accepted the request by the secretary of the Guardian Council to extend by five days [the deadline] for following up complaints by candidates,” state television said. The initial deadline was due to expire today.
But the Guardian Council, which has the authority to annul or validate the election result, also ruled out the prospect of annulling the vote, insisting it could find no proof of any “major” irregularities, as alleged by two losing candidates and their supporters. The council said extending the deadline would help remove any ambiguities over the disputed ballot.
A council spokesman had suggested earlier this week that there were some irregularities in the vote count, with the number of ballots cast exceeding the number of eligible voters in 50 constituencies. This had affected some three million votes, he said, but not enough to affect the outcome.
Meanwhile, the protests that rocked Tehran and other cities for 10 days have declined in size and intensity following a renewed government crackdown. Officials say they will set up a special court for detained protesters and warned that anyone who encouraged further demonstrations – including Mir Hussein Mousavi, the defeated candidate whose supporters have led the protests – will be subject to arrest.
Ebrahim Raisi, a senior judiciary official, said tribunals will be set up to deal with hundreds of “rioters” and “thugs” arrested during the disturbances of last week. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards also warned earlier this week that anyone who continued to protest in defiance of the authorities’ ban on such gatherings would be considered a “threat” to the system.
Mr Mousavi, in his most recent statement issued on Monday, urged his supporters to continue peaceful protests. Another defeated candidate, Mehdi Karroubi, yesterday called for a day of mourning on Thursday to commemorate those who have died since the June 12th election.
Members of the Revolutionary Guards, the Basij and other security forces in riot gear have been deployed across Tehran since Saturday to prevent any gatherings. Small protests yesterday were broken up with tear gas and shots in the air, while helicopters circled overhead.