Defeated Iran presidential candidate cries foul

Iran’s defeated hardline candidate Ebrahim Raisi denounced numerous “violations” in the conduct of Friday’s election that saw the re-election of President Hassan Rouhani, and called for an investigation.

In a letter to the Guardian Council, which oversees elections, Raisi called for “the investigation of certain violations committed before and during the election”, according to the Fars news agency.

It said Raisi, a 56-year-old jurist and cleric, had sent hundreds of pages of documents supporting his allegations.

“I cannot keep quiet in the face of the injustice committed against the rights of people,” he said in his letter.

Newly re-elected Iranian President Hassan Rouhani gestures after delivering a televised speech in the capital Tehran on May 20, 2017. A portrait of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is seen in the background. (AFP PHOTO / ATTA KENARE)

The conservative camp had complained of violations before polling had even closed on Friday.

Rouhani, a moderate cleric, was declared the winner on Saturday with 57 percent of the vote against 38 percent for Raisi — and the complaint is not expected to invalidate the results.