IDADI YA WATU WALIOSOMA HABARI HII:
TEHRAN, Iran – Iran's interior ministry said President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took nearly 70 percent of the early votes counted, but his pro-reform rival countered that he was the clear victor and warned of possible fraud in the election. The dispute rose up even before polls closed early Saturday, heightening tensions across the capital where emotions have been running at a fever pitch. Mir Hossein Mousavi, the reformist candidate, suggested he might challenge the results.
The messy and tense outcome capped a long day of voting — extended for six hours to accommodate a huge turnout. It raised worries that Iran's Islamic establishment could use its vast powers to pressure backers of Mousavi.
During the voting, text messages were blocked — a key campaign tool for reformers — as well as some pro-Mousavi Web sites. Security officials warned they would not tolerate political gatherings or rallies before the final results were known.
Even before the first vote counts were released, Mousavi held a news conference to declare himself "definitely the winner" based on "all indications from all over Iran." But he gave nothing more to back up his claim and alleged widespread voting irregularities without giving specifics — suggesting he was ready to challenge the final results.
Moments after Mousavi spoke, however, Iran's state news agency reported that Ahmadinejad was the victor. The report by the Islamic Republic News Agency also gave no details.
With more than 15 million votes counted, Ahmadinejad had 67.7 percent and Mousavi had 30.3 percent, said Kamran Daneshjoo, a senior officials with the Interior Ministry, which oversees the voting.
It was not reported whether the results were from locations considered Ahmadinejad strongholds or where Mousavi hoped to make headway.
The turnout was not immediately known, but election officials had predicted a possible record among the 46.2 million eligible voters.
During the voting, some communications across Iran were disrupted — Internet connections slowed dramatically in some spots, affecting the operations of news organizations including The Associated Press, and some pro-Mousavi Web sites were blocked. It was not clear what had caused the disruptions.
A high turnout was expected to help Mousavi, who is counting on an outpouring from what's been called his "green tsunami" — the signature color of his campaign and the new banner for reformists seeking wider liberties at home and a gentler face for Iran abroad.
The president does not have the power to direct high-level policies, which are dictated solely by the ruling clerics. But the election focused on what the office can influence: boosting Iran's sinking economy, pressing for greater media and political freedoms, and being Iran's main envoy to the world.
Voters streamed to polling sites from the early morning until midnight — with balloting extended by at least four hours. Some waited for hours in temperatures that hit 113 degrees in Iran's central desert or in nighttime downpours that lashed many parts of the country. In Tehran, a bride in her wedding gown cast her ballot. Families making traditional Friday visits to relatives' graves filed into polling stations in the capital's sprawling cemetery.
Results are expected Saturday. But worries about the volatile atmosphere were already clear. The Interior Ministry — which oversees voting — said all rallies or political gatherings would be banned until after the formal announcement of results.
In Washington, President Barack Obama said the "robust debate" during the campaign suggests a possibility of change in Iran, which is under intense international pressure over its nuclear program.
"Ultimately the election is for the Iranians to decide," said Obama, who has offered to open dialogue with Iran's leaders after a nearly 30-year diplomatic freeze. "But ... you're seeing people looking at new possibilities. And whoever ends up winning the election in Iran, the fact that there's been a robust debate hopefully will help advance our ability to engage them in new ways."
There were sporadic claims by Mousavi's aides of voting irregularities, including ballots running out in some provincial sites, but they could not be independently verified. About a dozen Ahmadinejad supporters pelted a Mousavi office in Tehran with tear gas canisters, but no one was injured, said Saeed Shariati, head of Mousavi's Web campaign. The attack could not be independently confirmed.
In a possible complication for Mousavi's backers, Iran's mobile phone text messaging system was down. Many Iranians, especially young voters, frequently use text messages to spread election information quickly to friends and family.
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TEHRAN, Iran – Iran's interior ministry said President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took nearly 70 percent of the early votes counted, but his pro-reform rival countered that he was the clear victor and warned of possible fraud in the election. The dispute rose up even before polls closed early Saturday, heightening tensions across the capital where emotions have been running at a fever pitch. Mir Hossein Mousavi, the reformist candidate, suggested he might challenge the results.
The messy and tense outcome capped a long day of voting — extended for six hours to accommodate a huge turnout. It raised worries that Iran's Islamic establishment could use its vast powers to pressure backers of Mousavi.
During the voting, text messages were blocked — a key campaign tool for reformers — as well as some pro-Mousavi Web sites. Security officials warned they would not tolerate political gatherings or rallies before the final results were known.
Even before the first vote counts were released, Mousavi held a news conference to declare himself "definitely the winner" based on "all indications from all over Iran." But he gave nothing more to back up his claim and alleged widespread voting irregularities without giving specifics — suggesting he was ready to challenge the final results.
Moments after Mousavi spoke, however, Iran's state news agency reported that Ahmadinejad was the victor. The report by the Islamic Republic News Agency also gave no details.
With more than 15 million votes counted, Ahmadinejad had 67.7 percent and Mousavi had 30.3 percent, said Kamran Daneshjoo, a senior officials with the Interior Ministry, which oversees the voting.
It was not reported whether the results were from locations considered Ahmadinejad strongholds or where Mousavi hoped to make headway.
The turnout was not immediately known, but election officials had predicted a possible record among the 46.2 million eligible voters.
During the voting, some communications across Iran were disrupted — Internet connections slowed dramatically in some spots, affecting the operations of news organizations including The Associated Press, and some pro-Mousavi Web sites were blocked. It was not clear what had caused the disruptions.
A high turnout was expected to help Mousavi, who is counting on an outpouring from what's been called his "green tsunami" — the signature color of his campaign and the new banner for reformists seeking wider liberties at home and a gentler face for Iran abroad.
The president does not have the power to direct high-level policies, which are dictated solely by the ruling clerics. But the election focused on what the office can influence: boosting Iran's sinking economy, pressing for greater media and political freedoms, and being Iran's main envoy to the world.
Voters streamed to polling sites from the early morning until midnight — with balloting extended by at least four hours. Some waited for hours in temperatures that hit 113 degrees in Iran's central desert or in nighttime downpours that lashed many parts of the country. In Tehran, a bride in her wedding gown cast her ballot. Families making traditional Friday visits to relatives' graves filed into polling stations in the capital's sprawling cemetery.
Results are expected Saturday. But worries about the volatile atmosphere were already clear. The Interior Ministry — which oversees voting — said all rallies or political gatherings would be banned until after the formal announcement of results.
In Washington, President Barack Obama said the "robust debate" during the campaign suggests a possibility of change in Iran, which is under intense international pressure over its nuclear program.
"Ultimately the election is for the Iranians to decide," said Obama, who has offered to open dialogue with Iran's leaders after a nearly 30-year diplomatic freeze. "But ... you're seeing people looking at new possibilities. And whoever ends up winning the election in Iran, the fact that there's been a robust debate hopefully will help advance our ability to engage them in new ways."
There were sporadic claims by Mousavi's aides of voting irregularities, including ballots running out in some provincial sites, but they could not be independently verified. About a dozen Ahmadinejad supporters pelted a Mousavi office in Tehran with tear gas canisters, but no one was injured, said Saeed Shariati, head of Mousavi's Web campaign. The attack could not be independently confirmed.
In a possible complication for Mousavi's backers, Iran's mobile phone text messaging system was down. Many Iranians, especially young voters, frequently use text messages to spread election information quickly to friends and family.
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