Regardless of the outcome, it's difficult to see a significant difference in core policy though at least the interaction would be less controversial as it is today. The bizarre rants and Holocaust denying would be set aside. Many western newspapers are reporting the election to be too close to call but the official results suggest a strong victory for Ahmadinejad. The opposition is charging that those results are false and distorted due to allies of Ahmadinejad. CNN is reporting a strong victory for the current Iranian president, making a run-off unlikely.
Final results in Iran's hotly contested presidential race were expected soon, election officials said Saturday morning, as hard-line Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad held a commanding lead.The Washington Post:
With 78 percent of ballot boxes counted, Ahmedinejad had 64.9 percent of the vote while his chief rival Mir Hossein Moussavi had 32 percent, election officials said.
Analysts expected Moussavi, widely regarded as a reformist, to do well as his campaign caught fire in recent days, triggering massive street rallies in Tehran.
A pivotal presidential election in Iran ended in confusion and confrontation early Saturday as both sides claimed victory and plainclothes officers fired tear gas to disperse a cheering crowd outside the campaign headquarters of opposition candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi.The Guardian reports near record highs for turnout.
With votes still being counted in many cities, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was leading by a 2-1 ratio in early returns, according to Iranian Interior Ministry officials. But Mousavi's supporters dismissed those numbers, saying the ministry was effectively under Ahmadinejad's control.
"I am the winner of these elections," Mousavi declared late Friday, after heavy turnout resulted in a two-hour extension of voting across the Islamic republic. "The people have voted for me."
The official result is due to be announced today. Interior ministry sources predicted a turnout of 70% or more, approaching the nearly 80% when the reformist Muhammad Khatami – now backing Mousavi – won the 1997 election and ushered in a more relaxed period at home and in Iran's relations abroad.
If no candidate gets 50%, the two top contenders go forward to a run off next week. Two other candidates would drop out.
