Recount offered for disputed Iranian election

June 16, 2009

The Guardian Council of Iran has announced it is willing to recount contentious votes from Friday's presidential elections. Iran's top legislative body has said votes would be recounted in regions where other losing candidates contest the results, but the Council says they have no plans to annul the election.

Candidates opposing the current president elect, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, made the official request for a recount saying they believe thousands of ballots went missing. There will be a 10 day waiting period while the council reviews the election results.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme ruler of Iran, has announced there will be an investigation into possible voting fraud, after various countries including the United States and the European Union expressed discomfort with the way the election had been handled.