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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Hashemi-Rafsanjani urges fair vote probe
2009-06-29
[Iran Press TV Latest] Head of Iran's Expediency Council Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani has called for a "fair and thorough" study of the legal complaints made about the disputed presidential election.

"The developments following the presidential vote were a complex conspiracy plotted by suspicious elements with the aim of creating a rift between the people and the Islamic establishment and causing them to lose their trust in the system," Rafsanjani said Sunday.

"Such plots have always been neutralized whenever the people have entered the scene with vigilance."

Following the June 12 election, which saw President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad re-elected to a second four-year term, Iran became the scene of rallies with defeated candidates Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi rejecting the result as fraudulent and demanding a re-run.

In his Sunday remarks, Rafsanjani praised the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei for extending by five days the Guardian Council's deadline to review issues pertaining to the elections and removing the ambiguities surrounding it.

"This valuable move by the Leader to restore the people's confidence in the election process was very effective," he said.

He expressed hope that "those who are tasked with this issue (election) can thoroughly and fairly review and study the legal complaints."

On Saturday, the Expediency Council called on all defeated candidates in the disputed presidential election to legally pursue their complaints through the proper channels.

"As the best and most appropriate way, the Expediency Council asks all to observe the law and resolve conflicts and disputes [concerning the election] through legal channels," the council said in a statement.

The statement came after the Guardian Council on Thursday announced that it would form a special committee to investigate the June 12 election.

Mousavi has rejected the offer of a partial recount, refusing to cooperate with the Guardian Council's special commission.

Karroubi has also refused to send a representative to the commission. He has criticized what he considers the "lack of impartiality" among the group's members, some of whom have publicly supported President Ahmadinejad.

The third candidate, Mohsen Rezaei, will not be sending a representative to the commission either.
Posted by:Fred

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