Iran election going to run-off, challenger alleges fraud
{{date|June 20, 2005}}

Friday's elections whittled Iran's field of presidential candidates from eight to two, but the incredibly close vote has led to the scheduling of an unprecedented runoff to be held next Friday.

Candidates [[w:Mahmoud Ahmadinezhad|Mahmoud Ahmadizezhad]] and [[w:Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani|Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani]] will square off next week --- unless candidate [[w:Mehdi Karroubi|Mehdi Karroubi]] has his way.  Karroubi has alleged voting irregularities and has called on Supreme Leader Ayatollah [[Ali Khamenei]] to investigate.  Karroubi alleges that members of the unelected [[w:Guardian Council|Guardian Council]] and the [[w:Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps|Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps]] conspired to rig votes.  These charges were seconded late Saturday by reformist candidate [[w:Mostafa Moin|Mostafa Moin]], who had been leading in some pre-election polls but placed third in Friday's vote.

== First Round Results ==

{| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse;"
! rowspan="2"|Presidential Candidate
! colspan="2"|Popular Vote
|-
! Count
! Percentage
|-
| '''[[w:Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani|Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani]]'''
| style="text-align:right;" | 6,159,453
| style="text-align:right;" | 21.01%
|-
| '''[[w:Mahmoud Ahmadinezhad|Mahmoud Ahmadizehad]]'''
| style="text-align:right;" | 5,710,354
| style="text-align:right;" | 19.48%
|-
| '''[[w:Mehdi Karroubi|Mehdi Karroubi]]'''
| style="text-align:right;" | 5,066,316
| style="text-align:right;" | 17.28%
|-
| '''[[w:Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf|Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf]]'''
| style="text-align:right;" | 4,075,189
| style="text-align:right;" | 13.90%
|-
| '''[[w:Mostafa Moeen|Mostafa Moeen]]'''
| style="text-align:right;" | 4,054,304
| style="text-align:right;" | 13.83%
|-
| '''[[w:Ali Larijani|Ali Larijani]]'''
| style="text-align:right;" | 1,740,163
| style="text-align:right;" | 5.94%
|-
| '''[[w:Mohsen Mehralizadeh|Moshen Mehralizadeh]]'''
| style="text-align:right;" | 1,289,323
| style="text-align:right;" | 4.40%
|-
| Blank or invalid votes
| style="text-align:right;" | 1,221,940
| style="text-align:right;" | 4.17%
|-
| style="font-weight:bold;text-align:right;" | Total
| style="text-align:right;" | 29,317,042
| style="text-align:right;" | 100%
|}
*<small>Source:Wikipedia - [[w:Iranian Presidential Election, 2005|Iranian Presidential Election, 2005]]</small>
==External links & Sources==
===External links===
For an example of the inconsistent vote tallies, see (official Iranian News Agency reports)
*http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/menu-234/0506180698161043.htm (from 16:10)
*http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/menu-234/0506180849181707.htm (from 18:17)
Note that while Conservative [[w:Mahmoud Ahmadinezhad|Mahmoud Ahmadizezhad]] won 650,000 votes, the total tally rose only by 350,000.

=== Sources ===
*{{source|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/19/international/middleeast/19iran.html?pagewanted=1
    |title=Iran Moderate Says Hard-Liners Rigged Election
    |author=Michael Slackman
    |pub=New York Times
    |date=June 19, 2005}} 

  

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[[Category:Middle East]]
[[Category:Iran]]
[[Category:Politics and conflicts]]
[[Category:Elections]]
[[Category:2005 Iran Elections]]
[[Category:Ali Khamenei]]
[[Category:Hashemi Rafsanjani]]

[[de:Bei der Präsidentenwahl im Iran kommt es zu einer Stichwahl]]
[[fr:Le gouvernement iranien donne les résultats de l'élection présidentielle]]
Friday's elections whittled Iran's field of presidential candidates from eight to two, but the incredibly close vote has led to the scheduling of an unprecedented runoff to be held next Friday.

Candidates Mahmoud Ahmadizezhad and Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani will square off next week --- unless candidate Mehdi Karroubi has his way.  Karroubi has alleged voting irregularities and has called on Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to investigate.  Karroubi alleges that members of the unelected Guardian Council and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps conspired to rig votes.  These charges were seconded late Saturday by reformist candidate Mostafa Moin, who had been leading in some pre-election polls but placed third in Friday's vote.
Middle East Iran Politics and conflicts Elections 2005 Iran Elections Ali Khamenei Hashemi Rafsanjani