Fraud Charges Delay Tehran Vote Tally

Officials on Thursday delayed releasing final poll results for Tehran amid allegations of vote-rigging in a tight race for the last of the capital’s 30 parliamentary seats.

Officials said they were investigating charges that 100 ballot boxes were stuffed with fraudulent votes. Another 100 boxes had yet to be counted out of a total of 3,111 across the city, they said.

“Some ballot boxes are being recounted. Protests have been made against alleged vote-rigging . . . especially in the south of Tehran,” one ministry official said.

“The Interior Ministry is following up this case and . . . final results will be released by [tonight].”

With almost all votes counted, reformists backing President Mohammad Khatami had a firm grip on the top 27 places and were leading in the race for two other seats--an improvement on an already strong showing in the provinces.

But the fate of former President Hashemi Rafsanjani, the standard-bearer for the conservative establishment and the only obstacle to a reformist sweep of the capital, hung in the balance.

According to unofficial results, Rafsanjani was clinging to a place in the top 30, but it was uncertain whether he would clear the 25% threshold needed to enter parliament in the first round. A strong showing in south Tehran could put him through.

Complicating the count is the dual nature of authority for the polls, divided between the reformist government’s Interior Ministry and the conservative clerics who dominate the Guardian Council.

Monitors say Interior Ministry supervisors have refused to sign off on results from the disputed districts, despite approval of the balloting by representatives of the Guardian Council.