Saturday, June 15 2013 19:08 PM BST
19:10 - White House 'congratulates [Iranian people] for their participation in the political process and their courage in making their voices heard'
17:05 - The clear defeat and absolute silence of Principlists, by Reza Haghighat Nejad
As results of the election emerge, most analysts and figures from the Principlist camp remain in complete shock. Deflecting attention, some Principlist figures only concentrate on the participation aspect of the election and call it the result of Ali Khamenei's call and the embodiment of the "political epic."
Some others, such as Roohollah Hosseinian has used this opportunity to prove his claim that results of the recent election prove that there was no fraud in the 2009 election.
Nonetheless, none of them provide any explanation about the clear defeat of all Principlist candidates in this election.
In a rare reaction, Tabnak Website, affiliated with Mohsen Rezaei, wrote in a short report,
"It was absolutely necessary for the Principlism to be defeated, its necessity superseded everything! The Principlist thinking must comprehend this point that it cannot be ineffective and expect people to move towards it in droves. The Principlist thinking must realize that it must accept responsibility and accountability. It cannot support a presidential candidate fully and then abandon him in the middle of the way...The Principlist media, and on top of them [the state-owned] IRIB, must know that the time for monopoly on the media has ended and they cannot push a group of people or their candidate out by ignoring them. The Principlist thinking had to be defeated in order for the winds of change to pick up in this country. The continuation of Principlism and all the loss and the lack of accountability had hurt the people's feelings, the same people groups of which had completely been expelled from the management of the country! The Iranian people said "no" to the Principlist thinking; they said "no" to get them to understand that it is the people who determine the best candidate and that these people want a president to manage the country; a good management whose effects they can see and touch in their daily lives. People are not looking for a candidate to wield slogans inside and outside the country, nor one who would expose their daily lives to fundamental negative changes."
16:52 Today's Expediency Council meeting: everyone seems happy
At the Saturday, June 15 meeting of the Expediency Council, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said, "If enemies of the Islamic Republic have a modicum of fairness, they must admit that Iran just held the most democratic election in the world and they cannot doubt it in any way."
Saturday, June 15 2013 18:08 PM BST
Time Magazine's correspondent Aryn Baker was granted a visa to cover Friday's election, and said her access in the country was "a lot better than I expected. No buses whatsoever and I could go wherever I wanted."
Saturday, June 15 2013 18:01 PM BST
Ministry of Interior announced 72 percent turnout, a staggering figure that goes far beyond even optimistic predictions, which expected turnout rates of 50-60 percent. Supreme Leader Khamanei's Twitter feed exults in massive turnout: "My emphasis on people's maximum presence in #election is because Iranian’s powerful presence frustrates #Iran's enemy"
Saturday, June 15 2013 17:59 PM BST
Responding to Iran's announcement that Hassan Rouhani had been elected President, an FCO spokesperson said: “We note the announcement that Hassan Rouhani has won the Iranian Presidential Elections. “We call on him to use the opportunity to set Iran on a different course for the future: addressing international concerns about Iran's nuclear programme, taking forward a constructive relationship with the international community, and improving the political and human rights situation for the people of Iran.”
Saturday, June 15 2013 17:52 PM BST
Friends in Tehran report cars honking in streets, and crowds gathering on street corners, the atmosphere fervent and excited. Cell phone service up, BBC Persian and VOA Persian broadcasts not being blocked. Western countries having to weigh statements, possible we will hear joint statement from G8 countries gathered in Belfast. Diplomats had been considering how to word and handle a statement condemning an unfree vote and electoral manipulation, how having to figure out the opposite.
Saturday, June 15 2013 17:32 PM BST
Iran is on the brink of an extraordinary political transformation after the reformists-backed cleric Hassan Rouhani won an outright majority in Iran's landmark presidential election and set to succeed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Iran's interior minister, Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar, announced on national TV around 20:30 Tehran Time that Rouhani has won more than 18m votes from the total votes of 36.7million votes. The win by Rouhani, who has been described by western officials as an “experienced diplomat and politician” and “fair to deal with”, will come to the surprise of many battered reformers in Iran who are desperate for a comeback to the forefront of Iranian politics after eight acrimonious years of Ahmadinejad’s domination. It will also lift the spirit of a nation suffering from their worst financial crisis for at least two decades due to unprecedented sanctions imposed by western powers over Tehran’s disputed nuclear programme.
Saturday, June 15 2013 17:15 PM BST
17:05 - The clear defeat and absolute silence of Principlists, by Reza Haghighat Nejad
As results of the election emerge, most analysts and figures from the Principlist camp remain in complete shock. Deflecting attention, some Principlist figures only concentrate on the participation aspect of the election and call it the result of Ali Khamenei's call and the embodiment of the "political epic."
Some others, such as Roohollah Hosseinian has used this opportunity to prove his claim that results of the recent election prove that there was no fraud in the 2009 election.
Nonetheless, none of them provide any explanation about the clear defeat of all Principlist candidates in this election.
In a rare reaction, Tabnak Website, affiliated with Mohsen Rezaei, wrote in a short report,
"It was absolutely necessary for the Principlism to be defeated, its necessity superseded everything! The Principlist thinking must comprehend this point that it cannot be ineffective and expect people to move towards it in droves. The Principlist thinking must realize that it must accept responsibility and accountability. It cannot support a presidential candidate fully and then abandon him in the middle of the way...The Principlist media, and on top of them [the state-owned] IRIB, must know that the time for monopoly on the media has ended and they cannot push a group of people or their candidate out by ignoring them. The Principlist thinking had to be defeated in order for the winds of change to pick up in this country. The continuation of Principlism and all the loss and the lack of accountability had hurt the people's feelings, the same people groups of which had completely been expelled from the management of the country! The Iranian people said "no" to the Principlist thinking; they said "no" to get them to understand that it is the people who determine the best candidate and that these people want a president to manage the country; a good management whose effects they can see and touch in their daily lives. People are not looking for a candidate to wield slogans inside and outside the country, nor one who would expose their daily lives to fundamental negative changes."
Saturday, June 15 2013 15:50 PM BST
14:35 PM (IRDT) – Tavakoli: The Era to Compensate Damages of Last Eight Years Has Been Started
A Tehran’s deputy at the Iranian Parliament believes that another epic turnout was produced – as predicted by the Supreme Leader – that in a way astonished the local and international observers. He emphasized that this election was the start of a new era to compensate damages of last eight years. Ahmad Tavakoli, a conservative member of the Iranian Parliament, made reference to yesterday’s huge election turnout and said: “The vast participation of people in this election which ended with no major violence and in which all people could freely vote for their favorite candidate added a new page to the glories of the Islamic Republic of Iran. “As predicted by the Supreme Leader, another epic was produced that in a way astonished the international and local observers”, Tavakoli opined. “People’s participation brought warmth to the hearts of Islamic Republic supporters inside and disarmed the enemies outside; whatever the result of yesterday’s election, whether Mr. Rouhani wins the election in the first round or the election is extended to a second round, nothing can undermine this great achievement of Iran and the Iranian people. With the prudence I have found in Rouhani and other candidates, I have full faith in smooth continuation of the election process to the end. This will be a starting point for a new era of compensating damages the county has suffered in the past years and in particular the last eight years. “We should all put our hands together to support whoever is elected”, Tavakoli concluded.
Saturday, June 15 2013 14:19 PM BST
13:55 (IRDT) – The exclusive reports received by Jaras (a website affiliated with reformist opposition green movement) show that Dr. Hassan Rouhani has obtained almost 62 percent of the votes and will therefore become the 11th President of Iran. According to Jaras and based on the information given by the inspectors at the polling stations in big cities and townships, the Presidential candidate Hassan Rouhani will be elected as the country’s 11th President with almost 62 percent of votes. Unfortunately, it seems that gaining such a big public acceptance and the heavy defeat for conservative candidates have provoked some agents within the Election Headquarters of the Iranian Interior Ministry and the Guardian Council to manipulate the votes with the aim of undermining the glorious participation of Iranian people in the election and their desire for change from one hand and to extend the election into a second round so as to increase their chance for winning by mobilizing a united conservative front and engineering the election from another hand. Many influential officials who have connections inside the Interior Ministry and other related bodies have also confirmed that Rouhani has so far obtained 62 percent of the votes. Jaras has emphasized that it will not reveal the identity of its sources for obvious security concerns.
Saturday, 15 June 2013 13:16 PM BST
Latest Results:
| 23014873 | total | Counting of vote per minute | 22,454 | |||||||
| Rohani | 11754013 | 51.07% | ||||||||
| Qalibaf | 3494938 | 15.19% | Percentage for Reformist | 51.07% | ||||||
| Jalili | 2593169 | 11.27% | Percentage for Conservatives | 32.56% | ||||||
| Rezaei | 2723202 | 11.83% | Percentage for Independents | 13.03% | ||||||
| Velayati | 1405543 | 6.11% | ||||||||
| Gharazi | 276499 | 1.20% | ||||||||
| 22247364 | (valid) |
In the light of today's results, reports from Tehran suggests that Iran's national currency, rial, has recovered its value against the dollar by some 6%.
Saturday, 15 June 2013 12:58 PM BST
13:30 PM (IRDT) – Guards' Corps (Sepah) Affiliated News Agency Emphasizes on the Necessity of Obtaining an Absolute Majority of Votes
Fars News political correspondent reports on Article 117 of the Constitution according to which the President is elected by an absolute majority of votes polled by the voters. But if none of the candidates is able to win such a majority in the first round, voting will take place a second time on Friday of the following week. In the second round, only the two candidates who received greatest number of votes in the first round will participate. If, however, some of the candidates securing greatest votes in the first round withdraw from the elections, the final choice will be decided between the two candidates who won greater number of votes than other candidates.
The Guardian Council‘s opinion Number 2764 dated June 26, 1985 on interpretation of Article 117 reads as follows: “In the second round, two Individuals who have the highest number of votes would be elected. Finally, based on the Presidential Election Law, the votes of others – not the two individuals – will be announced as voided; in this case, the one obtaining the majority of votes has been elected as the one entitled to win the absolute majority of votes; and if the votes of others are counted in the total vote counts, the elected one has been elected based on a relative majority of votes; in either case, the result would be the same, and the one from the two individuals who receives the highest number of votes would be elected and reelection will be illegal afterward.”
Article 12 of the Presidential Election Law has also emphasized that "the president is elected by an absolute majority of votes."
In accordance with Article 13 of the mentioned law, if none of the candidates were able to obtain an absolute majority of votes in the first round, the election will be held in two rounds, meaning that the two candidates with greatest number of votes in the first round will participate at the second round.
Based on this report, Fars correspondent asked Mohammad Dehghan, a member of the presiding board of Iranian Parliament (Majlis) who holds a PhD in law, if a candidate who obtains half plus one of all participants wins the election or the one who wins half plus one of the total number of correct allocated votes? “The constitution is clear in this regard: The criterion is based on all participants in the electoral vote, this means the votes of all participants; be it void or correct”, Dehghan explained.
“The one becomes president who has won more than 50 percent of total collected votes; this is to say the criterion is based on of the total collected votes and not the collected correct votes”, he added:
Dehghan reiterated that if Mr. Rouhani who already stands at the marginal line, can obtain more than 50% of the total collected votes, including correct and void votes, he will become president in the first round but if he obtains less than 50% and even 50% of votes, it is not still enough and he should get more than 50 percent of the total collected votes to become president.
“Therefore, if Mr. Rouhani fails to get more than 50 percent of the total collected votes, voting will naturally take place a second time. It is expected that the IRIB (Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting) announces the exact number of the total collected votes”, he emphasized.
The member of the presiding board of Majlis, while underlining the necessity for providing precise information, said: “They should declare the total number of collected votes and that how many votes have been casted for Mr. Rouhani. The criterion is not based on the number of correct collected votes which the Interior Ministry and IRIB tend to declare, the criterion is based on the total number of collected votes.
Mohammad Dehghan, while referring to article 12 of the presidential election law according to which “the president is elected by an absolute majority of votes", concluded that: When the law says "absolute majority of votes” it means the votes of all participants, the legal interpretation of this provision is clear This article may not be written in contradiction with the provisions of the constitution. If it was "correct votes", then it was highlighted but now that it says "absolute", it means the votes of all participants.”
Saturday, June 15 2013 08:44 AM BST
11:30 AM (IRDT) - With 5,003,633 votes, Hassan Rouhani now has three times the votes of his closest rival Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf. With 1,298,597 votes, Mohsen Rezaei has gained on Saeed Jalili, going to third place. The Interior Ministry refused to provide the "total votes" and "valid votes" numbers at 11:30 a.m.
Number of polling stations counted: 18,180
Total votes counted: Number not provided
Valid votes: Number not provided
Hassan Rohani votes: 5,003,633 votes
Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf votes: 1,582,724 votes
Mohsen Rezaei votes: 1,298,597 votes
Saeed Jalili votes: 1,220,151 votes
Ali Akbar Velayati votes: 620,908 votes
Mohammad Gharazi votes: 124,129 votes
Saturday, 15 June 2013 07:50 AM BST
Photos from vote counting at a polling station.
Saturday, 15 June 2013 07:35 AM BST
10:30 AM (IRDT) - According to news announced by the Iranian Interior Ministry, with 4,125,032 votes, Hassan Rohani remains the leader of the presidential elections race in Iran. State news television station, IRINN, said a few minutes ago that considering the huge gap between the number of Hassan Rohani's vote and the rest of the candidates, the possibility of Hassan Rohani's victory in the first round has increased.
Number of polling stations counted: 14,603
Total Votes counted: 8,319,368
Hassan Rohani's votes: 4,125,032 votes
Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf's votes: 1,341,947 votes
Saeed Jalili's votes: 1,056,327 votes
Mohsen Rezaei's votes: 902,121 votes
Ali Akbar Velayati's votes: 521,097 votes
Mohammad Gharazi: 104,214 votes
Saturday, June 15 2013 05:54AM BST
09:00 AM (IRDT) - The Iranian Interior Ministry announced that results from 10,718 polling stations indicate that Hassan Rohani leads the race with 2,720,144 votes.
Total votes: 5,378,714
Valid votes: 5,211,245
Hassan Rohani: 2,720,144 votes
Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf: 903,389 votes
Saeed Jalili: 679,524 votes
Mohsen Rezaei, 536,725 votes
Ali Akbar Velayati, 305,529 votes
Mohammad Gharazi, 65,934 votes
Saturday, June 15 2013 04:47AM BST
08:00 AM (IRDT) - According to the latest statement by the Interior Ministry, votes from 5,876 polling stations have been counted.
Valid votes: 2,927,547 votes
Hassan Rohani, 1,459,998 votes
Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf: 487,549 votes
Saeed Jalili: 383,820 votes
Mohsen Rezaei, 383,489 votes
Ali Akbar Velayati: 174,494
Mohammad Gharazi: 38,197 votes
05:57AM (IRDT) - 60% of Evin Prisoners voted
The Head Warden of Evin Prison said that more than 60% of the inmates at the prison facility participated in the election. "Prior to holding the election, families of inmates brought their birth certificates to the prison. Unfortunately, some prisoners from other towns were not able to vote, because their families lived long distances away and they could not gain access to their birth certificates," said Ali Ashraf Rashidi.
05:46 AM (IRDT) - Initial results announced by the Elections Headquarters: Hassan Rouhani on Top
According to ISNA Political Reporter, the initial election results indicate that so far Hassan Rouhani has higher votes as compared to other candidates.
Initial results have been announced for 1,631 polling stations.
Of the 861,866 votes, 826,649 of them are valid votes, and the breakdown is as follows:
1. Hassan Rouhani, 401,949 votes
2. Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, 126,896 votes
3. Saeed Jalili, 119,294 votes
4. Mohsen Rezaei, 109,089 votes
5. Ali Akbar Velayati, 55,990 votes
6. Seyed Mohammad Gharazi, 13,431 votes
05:30 AM (IRDT) - According to Rooz-e No website, quoting unofficial news, Hassan Rouhani has received 53% of the votes and is the definitive winner of the elections race.
According to another unofficial source, Hassan Rouhani has been able to gather 21 million of the 37 million votes.
An hour ago, Hassan Rouhani headed for the Interior Ministry on Fatemi Avenue to discuss the election results with Ministry officials.
None of these news reports have been confirmed by official sources.
05:20AM (IRDT) - ISNA reports that the initial results from the voting in the 11th Presidential election will be announced within the hour. According to news received by ISNA, the National Election Headquarters will make an announcement within the hour. Vote counts have been completed in several provinces but official news will be announced by the National Elections Headquarters. Unofficial news have been published on some websites and through SMS messages, but according to Kadkhodaee, the Spokesperson for the Guardian Council, only official statistics should be used as a reference.
05:10 AM (IRDT) - Most recent joke: Sounds from the vote counting room: Rouhani, Rouhani, Qalibaf, Rouhani, Rouhani, Qalibaf, Rouhani, Rouhani, Velayati, Jalili, Rouhani, Jalili, Qalibaf, Rouhani, Rouhani, Rouhani, Hey you guys, look at this: Gharazi! (sound of laugher!)
05:05 AM (IRDT) - An inside source from Iran: there will be an announcement very soon. Iranian minister of interior is going to IRIB (Iranian television)
04:54AM (IRDT) - Photos from vote counting at a polling station
04:24 AM (IRDT) - First Unofficial election results
Rouhani and Qalibaf at the top of the list
According to the first estimates of unofficial election results, Hassan Rouhani and Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf have taken a lead in the election. According to Mehr News Agency's reporters, the two candidates are ahead of the rest. Official results have not yet been announced and the presented estimates are based on what Mehr News Agency reporters have heard in the field.
04:50AM (IRDT) From Rowhani's Twitter account:
3:50AM (IRDT)- Yazd election results dispatched to Interior Ministry
City Governor of Yazd announced that counted results from the city's ballot boxes have been announced to the Interior Ministry. "We started counting the votes in Yazd and have informed the Elections Headquarters of the Interior Ministry of the results. The election results will be announced through the Elections Headquarters," Azizollah Seifi, the Yazd Governor said a few minutes ago.
03:40AM (IRDT)- Hassan Rouhani at Interior Ministry...
According to Rooz-e-No, a few minutes ago, Hassan Rohani made an appearance at the Interior Ministry to visit the Elections Headquarters and visit with elections operational managers. The real reasons for the visit are not known. Additionally, a Tweet from Mohammad Reza Aref said, "Good news from the Elections Headquarters and Dr. Rohani's observers, but we are not able to publish the news due to legal prohibition."
03:30AM (IRDT)- Mohammad Reza Aref's Twitter:
"Good news from the Elections Headquarters and Dr. Rohani's observers, but we are not able to publish the news due to legal prohibition."
02:45AM (IRDT)- Saeed Jalili Twitter:
Saeed Jalili @DrSaeedJalili 17m
Based on estimation, Jalili's votes in Isfahan are twice Ghalibaf. #iranelection
Saeed Jalili @DrSaeedJalili 19m
According to estimated statistics, Dr. Jalili's votes are twice those of Dr. Qalibaf.
Saeed Jalili @DrSaeedJalili 20m
Based on estimation, little difference between number of votes for Ghalibaf & Jalili in Tehran. #Iranelection
Saeed Jalili @DrSaeedJalili 25m
According to estimated statistics, the vote difference between Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and Saeed Jalili at a minimum in Tehran.
Friday, 14 June 2013 23:10 PM BST
The Rouhani Inner Circle
With early results showing Hassan Rouhani with a firm lead in today's vote, Iranians politicos are already talking about how he'll fare as Iran's president. A major point of weakness they say is his businessman brother, whose dealings with foreign companies investing in Iran's telecoms sector have come under scrutiny. Not a great deal is known about Rouhani's family, though he has lost one son to an apparent suicide. His daughter, others say, is progressive and doesn't wear hejab.
Hassan Rouhani's brother, fanning the candidate on the campaign trail
Friday, 14 June 2013 22:56 PM BST
A well-connected campaign source says that 65 percent of votes counted, and of those, 45 percent have gone to Rouhani, 30 percent to Qalibaf.
Friday, 14 June 2013 20:34 PM BST
Friend in Tehran describes conversations on streets last two nights and at polling stations as politically mature as compared to four years ago, young people especially having serious, wise discussions about whether to participate or not, and what participation means. Civic intelligence on display, regardless of what happens.
Friday, 14 June 2013 18:20 PM BST
Fakhrolsadat Mohtashamipour, the outspoken wife of leading reformist Mostafa Tajzadeh, votes in Tehran at the iconic Hosseiniyeh Ershad.
Outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad votes, uncharacteristically late in the day for a sitting executive (his tardiness is being viewed as one his last acts of rebellion against the Supreme Leader)
Friday, 14 June 2013 18:15 PM BST
Eyewitnesses Report
An Eyewitness: The Polling Stations with TV Cameras Crowded, Others Uncrowded
An eyewitness describes the voting situation in different districts of Tehran as follows: “Around 12, I went to Ghanoon Cultural Center in Shahrak-e Gharb neighborhood in northwest Tehran. The very long voting line there was amazing four years ago but today I only saw a poor soldier who was standing at the entrance. I then went to my former elementary school and another school across the street named Fajr-e Danesh. There were some voters standing in a line but the number was very low compared to the one four years ago. I then went to Saadat Abad, another northwest neighborhood in Tehran. There were maybe 100 people at the most. Then I went to Marzdaran (a neighborhood in western Tehran). I didn’t really see any crowded polling station there. At the end, I went to Zafar Street and Hosseinieh Ershad located in Shariati Street. I saw there a really huge number of people, though it was still not comparable with what I saw four years ago. There were many people with green shirts and shawls. The polling stations with the presence of Iranian TV cameras are very crowded, however, many other polling stations are uncrowded or at least not like four years ago. We went to Saadat Abad, Shahrak-e Gharb and a few polling stations in Shariati Street. We casted our votes at around 10 in the morning at a polling station in Shariati Street. I have also heard about the voting situation in Gohardasht district of Karaj. My sister lives there and apparently there has been a low turnout there and the majority of votes were casted for Rouhani. These are what I have witnessed or heard firsthand. But I don’t know about the situation in other areas or townships.
“We live in Yusef Abad district. There is a synagogue just opposite our house. Four years ago the voting line was stretched from inside the polling station to the front of the synagogue but it is now very uncrowded. Many of our relatives also called and said that they didn’t go to vote. Typically, there is a high turnout in the townships but there have been a low turnout this time in the townships as well”, another eyewitnesses opined.
Friday, 14 June 2013 18:12 PM BST
Rohani supporters in Tehran (Key is the symbol of Rohani's campaign. Pliers refers to the violent background of former revolutionary guards commander Bagher Ghalibaf)
Jalili on his way to vote
A voter showing his ballot that he voted for Rohani
Friday, 14 June 2013 17:45 PM BST
Speculations and Eyewitnesses: Rouhani Is Ahead in Tehran and Other Cities?
Omid Memarian
Several witnesses and a reporter close to Rouhani’s headquarters told Iranwire that based on what they have heard Rouhani is leading the election. “For the time being nothing special has happened in the public arena except what is heard which are all emphasizing on Rouhani’s victory. Some speculations say that the work might finish in the first round", told one of the witnesses.
According to another witness, lots of people are still undecided, those who do not yet know whom to vote for. “There are still persons who just need their birth certificates to be sealed since they have heard a lot about the importance of voting and that the one who doesn’t vote is a betrayer. They simply don’t want any problem in future. Another witness says that the ratio of Rouhani’s supporters to those of Jalili is four to one.
Another eyewitness who closely follows the election developments in Tehran said: "The passion is not comparable with the one during 2009 election, but it is not that bad. Most of the voters say Rouhani. People in the north of Tehran have mainly voted for Rouhani. The important point is that the reports from other cities also show Rouhani is leading. In 2009, Ahmadinejad had lots of votes in other cities and townships.”
Another person said that a large number of voters in the villages have voted for Rouhani. A young girl in the city of Karaj told Iranwire that “the majority of people in Karaj voted for Rouhani. I even heard a female staff at the polling station who was telling her colleague: “This year is even more crowded than four years ago, I was thinking of a low turnout this time”. This is her exact wordings. I think Mr. Rouhani wins the election, of course if they ever count our votes… I went to a few polling stations in Karaj, many voters were saying that they vote for Rouhani, there were also some people who were saying they vote for Ghalibaf.”
Friday, 14 June 2013 16:52 PM BST
Effat Marashi (Former President, Rafsanjani's wife): I Pray, God Willingly Hajagha Rouhani Wins!
Termeh Irani
Hashemi’s children casted their votes Friday noon in the Jamaran mosque’s polling station.“The one we vote!” was the answer Fatemeh Hashemi told reporters who asked her about the winner of the election is in her opinion. She accompanied his brothers Mehdi and Yaser to Jamaran mosque. When asked who did you vote for, she answered: “Mr. Rouhani” . Yaser Hashemi also said: “Voters’ turnout is good in this election.”
Effat Hashemi, wife of Ayatollah Hashemi who had come to the polling station together with her husband told reporters today morning in a loud voice that “I pray, God willingly Hajagha Rouhani wins.”
Friday, 14 June 2013 16:50 PM
Head of Rouhani’s Campaign Headquarters in Fasa Attacked By Unknown Persons
Shahram Rafi’zadeh
Head of Rouhani’s campaign headquarters in Fasa township of Fars province was acid attacked today afternoon.
According to an ILNA report, Yonus Mehdipour was beaten by a number of unknown persons and one of the attackers poured acid on his face that left this Rouhani campaign headquarters’ activist severe burn injuries.
Mehdipour has been reportedly transferred to a nearby hospital in Fasa township.
Friday, 14 June 2013 16:40 PM BST
Voters Cast Ballots In Iran's Presidential Election
Friday, 14 June 2013 15:38 PM BST
Images from today's election in Tehran
Friday, 14 June 2013 15:06 PM BST
Provincial Governor of Tehran says candidates' complaints about their monitors not being issued identity cards in timely manner baseless. Says that all monitors were issued cards in Tehran, and that some candidates may not have requested or appointed as many monitors as others, and that this does not reflect on his office.
[Early this morning, Rouhani and Mohsen Rezai representatives officially complained about hitchens in process for their monitors to receive cards.]
Friday, 14 June 2013 14:32 PM BST
Have talked to a middle-class family that voted, parents and older children, for Qalibaf, they said he seems to have a strong record in Tehran, is pragmatic, and seems best suited to improve economy, which is the top priority. "He is a man to get things done."
Friday, 14 June 2013 14:27 PM BST
Speaking with another acquaintance in Tehran, middle-class mother of two, who is not voting, and says she has scolded those that she knows who've done so today. "What about the blood of Neda that was spilled, and the blood of all those students and young people? If we vote again, it will have been for nothing."
Friday, 14 June 2013 14:15PM BST
A friend who voted with his family in north Tehran said that polling stations in Shemiran were not particularly crowded at 11 am, the hour that he voted, but that they were busier other neighborhoods. The mood at the polling station was relaxed, and Mohammed Reza Aref's name did not appear on the ballot, unlike reports from other polling stations.
"Everyone I know is voting for Rouahni, and if he doesn't make the second round, given the inevitably split vote among the other six candidates, it will be unbelievable," this friend said. "In my circle I haven't heard of a single person not voting for Rouhani. Everyone I speak with agrees that voting for him is better than nothing, at least with him it's one step forward. We must not let Jalili win."
Friday, 14 June 2013 13:07PM BST
Friday, 14 June 2013 11:55AM BST
Hassan Rouhani's campaign manager has written to the Guardian Council spokesman to complain of ballots including the name of Mohammad Reza Aref, the candidate who withdrew from the race earlier this week.
The Rouhani campaign has subsequently asked supporters to register their votes online at http://www.rohani92.com, registering when and where they voted.
comments