DATE=5/8/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=IRAN / ELECTIONS (L-O)
NUMBER=2-262094
BYLINE=LISA BRYANT
DATELINE=CAIRO
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Iran's official news agency says the country's
conservative Council of Guardians will not void
parliamentary election results for Tehran. From
Cairo, Lisa Bryant reports the Council had charged
widespread fraud in the February vote, in which
reformists swept the polls.
TEXT: A member of the Council of Guardians told
Iran's news agency that the oversight body may
continue counting the parliamentary votes in Tehran,
or take other unspecified measures. But he said the
council was unlikely to nullify the legislative
results in the capital, in which pro-democracy
candidates won 29 out of 30 seats.
The Council of Guardians spokesman said he hoped the
council would publish the final voting results soon.
He said either way the parliament would convene as
scheduled, on May 27th.
The spokesman's remarks follow council allegations of
widespread vote fraud and miscounting in Tehran. The
body, which must certify all parliamentary results,
has voided more than a dozen reformist victories in
February's first-round of elections. Along with its
claims of fraud, the council hinted it might annul
reformist wins for the capital as well.
But in press reports, Iran's interior ministry denied
allegations of vote rigging in Tehran. A ministry
statement carried in local newspapers called the
council's claim baseless. It said that the council's
secretary general had privately endorsed the election
results a month ago. The ministry statement also
urged the council to make Tehran's voting results
public.
The latest developments are good news for moderates
aligned with President Mohammed Khatami, who again
swept the polls in a second round of elections Friday.
Their newest wins consolidate their strong majority in
the new, 290-seat parliament.
In recent weeks, voting gains by Iran's reformists,
have been tempered by setbacks elsewhere. The
country's conservative Press Court has closed 16 pro-
democracy publications, including a newspaper owned by
President Khatami's brother.
But a new newspaper has hit Iran's newsstands. In its
first issue, the "Bahar" daily said it aimed to be an
independent publication. The newspaper's editorial
also expressed regret over the recent press crackdown,
and said freedom of expression in Iran was vital.
(SIGNED)
NEB/LB/GE/RAE
08-May-2000 09:00 AM EDT (08-May-2000 1300 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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