Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been re-elected as president of Iran with a resounding victory, the electoral commission says.

With more than 80% of results in, the commission said he won 63% support in an election marked by high turnout.

Reformist Mir Hossein Mousavi also claimed victory, calling the result a "dangerous charade", as supporters vowed to appeal for a re-run.

Police have sealed off Mr Mousavi's campaign HQ, preventing his supporters from holding a news conference.

One opposition newspaper has been closed down and BBC websites also appear to have been blocked by the Iranian authorities.

Mr Mousavi was hoping to prevent Mr Ahmadinejad winning more than 50% of the vote, in order to force a run-off election.

However, the Iranian election commission said Mr Mousavi's share of the vote was around 34%.

Earlier, the state news agency Irna declared Mr Ahmadinejad the "definite winner", and his campaign manager was quoted as saying "any doubts cast on this victory will be treated as a joke by the public". BBC

Man it feels good to know that Nigeria isn't the only country practicing selection. Wow, even amongst candidates stacked for the supreme ayatollah in an election that doesn't throw up much surprises they still managed to rig the results to such a massive level that you'd have to commend them for the brass balls needed to undertake such injustice. Mousavi will still ultimately answer to the Ayatollah and its not like he is a liberal either, he just wants Iran to focus internally on itself. Seriously this is amazing,why rig a showpiece election when the outcome wouldn't affect the ruling class by much?

tunku:

Man it feels good to know that Nigeria isn't the only country practicing selection. Wow, even amongst candidates stacked for the supreme ayatollah in an election that doesn't throw up much surprises they still managed to rig the results to such a massive level that you'd have to commend them for the brass balls needed to undertake such injustice. Mousavi will still ultimately answer to the Ayatollah and its not like he is a liberal either, he just wants Iran to focus internally on itself. Seriously this is amazing,why rig a showpiece election when the outcome wouldn't affect the ruling class by much?

what did you expect from an islamic state?

I'm not suprised, only a fool would be.
Thats the hallmark of islam which literarily translates as ''submission'' ( prolly to opression)

tunku:

Man it feels good to know that Nigeria isn't the only country practicing selection. Wow, even amongst candidates stacked for the supreme ayatollah in an election that doesn't throw up much surprises they still managed to rig the results to such a massive level that you'd have to commend them for the brass balls needed to undertake such injustice. Mousavi will still ultimately answer to the Ayatollah and its not like he is a liberal either, he just wants Iran to focus internally on itself. Seriously this is amazing,why rig a showpiece election when the outcome wouldn't affect the ruling class by much?

and you have proof that the election was rigged?

JJYOU:

what did you expect from an islamic state?

not much different from what I would expect from the US, where Bush was 'allegedly rigged into the office twice and senate seats are up for sale
Its politics and has less to do with religion.

biina:

and you have proof that the election was rigged?

10's of thousands of people on the streets of Tehran protesting the charade

JosBoy4Lif:

10's of thousands of people on the streets of Tehran protesting the charade

Don't be suprise the protest is being instigated from the West.

JosBoy4Lif:

10's of thousands of people on the streets of Tehran protesting the charade

10's of thousands (objective sources please?)
and the protest of a few thousands in Tehran, whose preferred candidate lost, is not evidence of rigging considering about 40 million people voted.

Biina you intellectually bankrupt woman please refrain from shilling for clearly self-evidence antidemocratic going ons in the world. Did you see the people of South Africa protesting and asking for freedom when the ANC won a landslide victory again in SA? Yet Iamadinnerjacket "won" and these people are out in the streets in force.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8098305.stm

Please, please refrain from posting in this thread, if you want to biggup Iamadinnerjacket go to Presstv's website and congratulate iamadinnerjacket. Like I said before letting Mousavi win would not have changed much except turn Iran's outlook inward, so why not throw the people of Iran a bone?

@Topic

No one can say for sure if the election was rigged or not, there is a good possibility that Alhamadinajad won the election, what I have a problem with is the margin. 68% to 30% is quite a lot.

Although one thing is for sure, the train has left the station, Alhmadinajad would not have an easy journey for the next 4 years. No nation has succesfully kept the voice of its youths down.

Wait, how can we not be sure? Iamadinnerjacket purportedly won 65% of the vote, if the elections were fair you wouldn't  see those street fight scenes. In a repressive society like Iran why would they take to the streets if they haven't had enough?

I don't understand why people are finding it hard to believe Ahmedinejad won this election.

Even more puzzled as to why people think this election has any real bearing on the direction of Iranian policy making. Real power is held by the Supreme Leader whose position is not subject to a vote.

@tunku
You accused Ahmadinejad of rigging the elections and are yet to substantiate your claims, except stating because people didnt protest means the election was fair?   That is an unsound logic.
So all the elections PDP won in Nigeria without protestations were fair
Protestation does not need the majority, just a few people who are willing to show their discontent.
Aboutr 3,000 protested in Tehran, and that is your evidence of rigging of a national election?
BTW learn to attack the argument and not the person.

4 Play:

I don't understand why people are finding it hard to believe Ahmedinejad won this election.

Even more puzzled as to why people think this election has any real bearing on the direction of Iranian policy making. Real power is held by the Supreme Leader whose position is not subject to a vote.

well said.

instead for the apologist to read more about Iran and it is system of government, they are quick to shout.

imadinnerjacket didn't win, if he did why did Mousavi claim victory? Please, Iranians aren't asking for much they won't protest whatever Iran's nuclear policy is and they won't protest against a change in foreign policy. All they want is the government to provide jobs for them instead of international saber rattling. Biina listen how does people losing their lives in the hundreds and thousands in every election period in Nigeria mean that elections were fair? Who is arguing that PDP elections are fair? No one. Did you see the same thing happening in Ghana after the close election of Atta mills? Please spare me your sanctimony. This is one of the few pressure valves that Iranians have to release some steams and if the government isn't willing to play ball then they get angry. Nobody is saying that the election of Mousavi means it is all love dovey between Iran and America, but it will signal a change that Iran needs to strengthen its economy and focus inward. But I guess that is too much for you.

4 Play:

I don't understand why people are finding it hard to believe Ahmedinejad won this election.

Even more puzzled as to why people think this election has any real bearing on the direction of Iranian policy making. Real power is held by the Supreme Leader whose position is not subject to a vote.

word. the ayatollahs and revolutionary guard have more power in that country

Ahmedinejad has been declared winner . . . Iran had better get on with it.

Iran elections: revolt as crowds protest at Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's 'rigged' victory
Iran's clerical regime is facing open revolt as riot police clash with huge crowds accusing them of fixing the vote that returned Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power.

By Colin Freeman in Tehran
Published: 8:00PM BST 13 Jun 2009

Supporters of defeated Iranian presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi run past burning debris during riots in Tehran Photo: AFP/GETTY
The capital, Tehran, has seen its most violent street disturbances for a decade as demonstrators protested over Mr Ahmadinejad's surprise defeat of Mir-Hossein Mousavi, the reformist challenger.
Mr Mousavi claimed he had been the victim of "fraud" and "manipulation" after he gained just 33.7 per cent of the vote, compared to Mr Ahmadinejad's 62.6 per cent.




In the run-up to the campaign, polls had put both men neck-and-neck, with some suggesting that Mr Ahmadinejad was in for a shock defeat because of his poor economic performance and aggression to the West.
While there has been no proof of rigging, many Iranians voiced open disbelief that he could have achieved victory by such a wide margin.
The prospect of Mr Ahmadinejad having another four-year term in office is potentially disastrous for US President Barack Obama's efforts to bring Iran in from its 30-year diplomatic isolation from the West.
Washington had hoped that a Mousavi presidency would have led to Iran coming to the negotiating table over its disputed nuclear programme, currently seen as a major threat to regional peace in the Middle East.
In Tehran, what had been a carnival-like pre-election campaign turned abruptly violent, with thousands of angry and disappointed Mousavi supporters congregating in the city centre. Defying official orders to stay off the streets, they shouted "Death to the dictator" and hurled rocks at riot squads.
Police dispersed the crowds, beating up both male and female protesters. But by nightfall there were still sporadic disturbances across the capital, with palls of smoke rising across the skyline from burning tyres. As darkness fell, victorious Ahmadinejad supporters cruised the streets on motorbikes, shouting victory. Onlookers said they had not seen such disturbances since Iran's student-led uprisings in 1999, and their scale showed the potential for the showdown to spill over into further challenges to the Islamic establishment.


In an attempt to quell the rising political tensions, Iran's supreme spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, urged the nation to unite behind the president and accept the result, calling it a "divine assessment".
At the same time, the nationwide text messaging system stopped functioning, the mobile telephone network seemed blocked, and several pro-Mousavi websites were blocked or difficult to access. Text messaging is frequently used by Iranians – especially young opposition supporters – to spread political news. The interior minister, Sadeq Mahsouli, who supervised the elections and heads the nation's police forces, warned people not to join any "unauthorised gatherings."
But Mr Mousavi, a former prime minister who came out of retirement to challenge Mr Ahmadinejad's "disgraceful" presidency, had claimed victory the night before, declaring himself "definitely the winner", and branded the official result an outright fraud.
"I'm warning that I won't surrender to this manipulation," read a statement on his website. "The outcome of what we've seen from the performance of officials, is nothing but shaking the pillars of the Islamic Republic of Iran's sacred system and governance of lies and dictatorship."
He added that "people won't respect those who take power through fraud."
Mr Mousavi's comments will be taken as implicit criticism of the Mr Khamenei himself, who wields ultimate political authority in Iran and has generally been seen as giving tacit support to Mr Ahmadinejad, a fellow hardliner.
The claims of vote-rigging follow a presidential campaign that was unusually open by Iranian standards, but also highly acrimonious.
During televised presidential debates, Mr Ahmadinejad traded frequent political punches with his rivals, accusing both them and other senior Iranian politicians of taking bribes. They in turn accused him of lying.
In an unprecedented move last week, Hashemi Rafsanjani, a former president whom Mr Ahmadinejad accused of corruption, wrote to Mr Khamenei complaining that the mudslinging was bringing Iran's political class into disrepute.
The turnout was a record 85 percent of Iran's 46.2 million eligible voters. Two other candidates, reformist cleric Mehdi Karoubi, and hardliner Mohsen Rezai, received fewer than a million votes each.
The re-election of Mr Ahmadinejad, a blacksmith's son who has cultivated a populist approach and espoused strict Islamic codes of dress and behaviour, was welcomed by his political allies abroad.
Among the first to telephone to congratulate him was the Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez, a fellow scourge of the US. The victory "represents the feeling and commitment of the Iranian people to building a new world," Mr Chavez said in a statement.
But an Israeli official described the result as very worrying, adding that it could only lead Iran into confrontation with the West - paerticularly over its nucelar weapons programme.
Israel's deputy foreign ministry spokesman, Danny Ayalon, said: "With the results of the election in Iran, the international community must stop a nuclear Iran and Iranian terror immediately. If there was a shadow of a hope for change in Iran, the renewed choice of Ahmadinejad expresses more than anything the growing Iranian threat."
America's Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, said the United States was monitoring the outcome of Iran's election and hoped the results reflected the will of the Iranian people.
Former US president Jimmy Carter said he expected no major change in Iran's policies with Mr Ahmadinejad's reelection.
"I think this election has bought out a lot of opposition to his policies in Iran, and I'm sure he'll listen to those opinions and hopefully moderate his position," he said.
Commentators on the Right share the view that the US may be better off with Mr Ahmadinejad still in office. "It's not a surprise and I don't think a Mousavi win would have made as big a difference as some people think," said Richard Perle, the conservative hawk and veteran of several administrations.
But on the Left there was a growing concern that his victory would make it much more difficult for Mr Obama to persuade Congressional sceptics that dialogue with Iran was worthwhile.

and what proof do you have that iamdinnerjacekt won? Mousavi was a lightening rod to the disaffected youths of Iran, they turned out in their thousands to support him if not his policy because they wanted anyone but iamadinnerjacket. Every election projection within Iran had iamadinnerjacket behind. Again simple logic you fucking idiots. If i am a dinner jacket really did win 65% of the vote in such a landslide victory wouldn't his supporters outnumber those out rioting in the streets by their own joyous celebrations? wouldn't they be out in the streets celebrating? Please spare me you barely literate assholes.

tunku:

imadinnerjacket didn't win, if he did why did Mousavi claim victory? Please, Iranians aren't asking for much they won't protest whatever Iran's nuclear policy is and they won't protest against a change in foreign policy. All they want is the government to provide jobs for them instead of international saber rattling.

What you forget is that Alhamadinajad has quite alot of supporters as well.

Iran in the 1960's was a free nation where you could go clubbing wear whatever you want and hold your girlfriend on the street. But there came a revolution, that made it an Islamic state, those who stood for that revolution are still living and are not ready to see it thrown away just like that.

Its only the youths who wants a change, they probably never saw or supported the revolution, and so they support Mousavi, who actually played a major role in the revolution, its just tat he claims he is now a changed man.

I dont really see how I can convince you though, the way you write Alhmahadijad's name it looks like your mind was made up even b4 the election.

@Aloy.Emeka

Stop posting nonsence now, we know where to get news if we need it.

Ikomi:

@Aloy.Emeka

Stop posting nonsence now, we know where to get news if we need it.

Lolz!

This wasn't elections about social reforms, it was about the economy. We know that the clerics whittle the choice down to these two men and even then they wouldn't let the people choose. READ MY POSTS, I am not arguing that this is anything but about the economy.

the margin of the victory is very suspicious.

70% of the vote?

tunku:

This wasn't elections about social reforms, it was about the economy. We know that the clerics whittle the choice down to these two men and even then they wouldn't let the people choose. READ MY POSTS, I am not arguing that this is anything but about the economy.

Then I disagree with you, you cant say everyone is focused on the economy. Different people have different concern, and it can not be economy alone, afterall, Iran is not the only nation in these times where the unemployement percentage is high.

Ahmadinejad won 62.63% of the votes and Moussavi received 33.75% which is plausible.
Ahmadinejad was supposedly more popular in the rural areas and in the older demographiocs.
I personally feel most politicians try to rig, and one just out rigs the others.

biina:

Ahmadinejad won 62.63% of the votes and Moussavi received 33.75% which is plausible.
Ahmadinejad was supposedly more popular in the rural areas and in the older demographiocs.
I personally feel most politicians try to rig, and one just out rigs the others.

Thats a crude way to put it. 

biina:

[b]Ahmadinejad won 62.63% of the votes and Moussavi received 33.75% which is plausible.[/b]Ahmadinejad was supposedly more popular in the rural areas and in the older demographiocs.
I personally feel most politicians try to rig, and one just out rigs the others.

I do not totally agree with you though, Mousavi knew wining wont be easy, but his aim was to keep Alhamadinajad within 50%, then he could call for a re-run, so a whole 68% victory, is to say the least suspicious