Iran Guardian Council orders partial recount of votes

Adnkronos International:

Following accusations of vote-rigging, Iran's powerful Guardian Council, the custodians of the Islamic orthodoxy and the body that supervises the electoral process, decided on Monday to recount part of the votes of the first round of the Iranian presidential elections which were held on Friday. ''The Guardian Council believes is it necessary to recount some votes in ballot boxes in Tehran, Ishahan, Qom and Mashar for a more careful study of the results," state television, reported. According to local TV, there will be a recount of 100 ballot boxes, selected randomly, out of a total of 41,000. READ MORE

If the recount doesn't end by 6.00 pm local time on Monday, the run-off vote will not happen this Friday as scheduled, but will instead be postponed.

Former president Hashemi Rafsanjani and Tehran mayor Mahmood Ahmadi-Nejad will face each other in the unprecedented second round of voting, after none of the presidential candidates managed to secure enough votes in the first poll. Several candidates have complained of dirty tricks during the election.