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Defeated Mousavi Asks for Cancellation of Iran's Presidential Vote Result
By VOA News 14 June 2009

Iran's reformist presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi is appealing for the cancellation of election results that gave a landslide victory to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Mir Hossein Mousavi (file photo)

Mr. Mousavi released a statement Sunday on his Web site saying he made the appeal to Iran's powerful Guardian Council of Islamic clerics. He has blamed his defeat on what he says was government voter fraud.

Mr. Mousavi also urged his supporters to continue protesting in a peaceful and legal manner. Pro-Mousavi activists held a second day of protests in Tehran Sunday, setting fires in the streets and fighting with police.

President Ahmadinejad rejected allegations of fraud in a news conference Sunday, saying he won a second term in a free vote. The conservative leader later greeted tens of thousands of supporters at a victory rally in Tehran's Vali Asr square.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden told U.S. network NBC Sunday he has doubts about the election's outcome.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, gestures, during a news conference, in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, 14 June 2009

But, he refrained from saying whether the Obama administration accepts it.

Official results showed Mr. Ahmadinejad won 63 percent of the vote, compared to 34 percent for Mr. Mousavi, his main rival.

Mr. Mousavi has not been seen in public since Friday's election. Iranian police and reformists say authorities detained at least 100 people after pro-Mousavi activists began violent protests on Saturday.

Reformists say one of those arrested is a brother of Iran's former reformist President Mohammad Khatami. They say some activists were released after being detained.

At the news conference, Iran's president said his margin of victory in the disputed election was so big that it cannot be questioned.

Mr. Ahmadinejad likened those complaining about the election to football (soccer) fans who are disappointed when their team loses. He said it is natural for police to fine such people when they violate traffic rules.

Iran's president also said the international controversy over Iran's nuclear program is something that belongs in the past. Some Western nations accuse Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons under cover of a civilian energy program, a charge Tehran denies.

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, welcomed Mr. Ahmadinejad's apparent landslide victory and urged the country to unite behind the president.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.

voa.