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Iran to Hold Presidential Election Runoff
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(http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=DEE1ED:3919ACA

Runoff will be held next Friday, one week after original vote





While a soldier stands guard, a veiled Iranian  woman under the gaze
of religious posters casts her ballot in AhvazIran is now certain to
have a runoff vote to decide its next president. With more than 60
percent of votes counted, officials said it was apparent that none of
the seven candidates had secured enough votes in Friday's election to
win outright. It is not yet clear who the two runoff contenders will
be.

For the first time in Iran's post-Islamic revolutionary history, a
runoff election will be held to determine the country's president.

As the vote count progressed Saturday, officials of the Guardian
Council said it was now mathematically impossible for any of the seven
candidates to win the necessary 50 percent plus one to win election
outright. The runoff will be held next Friday, one week after the
original poll.

But who will be in the runoff was not clear. Early results showed
former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani with a slight lead over
two of the lesser-known candidates, hard-line Tehran mayor Mahmood
Ahmadinejad and moderate Islamic cleric Mehdi Karroubi. But those
tallies did not include results from urban centers, including the
capital Tehran.







Voting in Iran's electionThe main reformist candidate, Mostafa Moin,
is expected to draw much of his support from the youth of Tehran and
other cities. Former national police chief Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf
could also make a strong surge toward the end of the count.

Turnout was apparently high, hitting 80 percent in some spots,
according to official figures. Voting time was extended at least four
hours in most places, and officials kept polls open late into the
night to allow everyone who wanted to vote to do so.

The turnout flew in the face of pre-election polls and interviews that
painted an electorate cynical and apathetic about the race. Turnout
was only 51 percent in the last presidential election four years ago.

Just before the election, President Bush characterized the Iranian
government as "repressive" and labeled the election as "undemocratic".
That clearly irked many voters, and some of them said Mr. Bush's
comments may have actually spurred turnout. At a crowded polling place
in central Tehran, Maryam Mohammadzadeh addressed herself directly to
the U.S. president.

"I wanted to tell you that this [election] is our national anthem
here, and either you know nothing about democracy, or you're blind,
I'm afraid," she said.

A final vote count is expected by Saturday evening Tehran time.


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