Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was re-elected on June 13, after winning the Islamic Republic’s presidential elections by landslide. Interior Minister Sadeq Mahsouli said Ahmadinejad won 62.63 per cent of the vote against 33.75 per cent for ex-premier Mir Hossein Mousavi. Ahmadinejad garnered a massive 24.5 million votes against 13.2 million for Mousavi. The former head of the Revolutionary Guards Mohsen Rezai came third with 678,240 votes or 1.73 per cent, while reformist ex-parliament speaker Mehdi Karroubi was last with 333,635 votes or 0.85 per cent. Some 39.1 million votes were cast on June 12, representing a turnout of 85 per cent across the country. “The president elect is the president of the entire Iranian nation and… all should support and help him,” supreme leader Ali Khamenei said in a statement. He said high voter turnout was a proof that Iran “after 30 years is immune and unwavering against political and psychological assault. The participation rate of 80 percent and the 24 million votes for the president-elect is a real feast which can guarantee the country’s progress, national security and lasting joy.”
But ex-premier Mousavi disputed the poll results. Mousavi, who was hoping for a political comeback on a groundswell of support among the nation’s youth, had complained of a shortage of ballot papers and attacks on his campaign offices. “People are aware and they do not bend in front of those who come to power by cheating,” he said. Following the poll results, hundreds of supporters of Ahmadinejad and Mousavi clashed in Tehran.