Tehran - Iran's Guardian Council offered opposition leader
Mir-Hossein Moussavi a deal to settle the dispute over alleged fraud
in the June 12 presidential election, ISNA news agency reported
Saturday.
Council spokesman Abbas-Ali Kadkhodaei said a special committee
would be formed to review the disputed election results that gave
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a controversial victory.
The council also called on Moussavi and fellow defeated
presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi to send representatives within
24 hours to join the committee.
Moussavi demanded an independent committee to evaluate the
election results, but Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected
it, saying prevailing laws and the constitution gave the Guardian
Council sole authority regarding election results.
Moussavi and other opposition groups argued that the Guardian
Council was neither qualified nor sufficiently impartial to review
the results, as most of its 12 members support Ahmadinejad.
The council's new offer is believed to be an effort by the Iranian
administration to find a compromise with the opposition leader.
Kadkhodaei said it was meant to 'attract trust' of Moussavi.
The spokesman said Friday that there were no major violations in
the elections, and described them as the 'healthiest' since the 1979
revolution.
Kadkhodaei said the council also agreed to recount 10 per cent of
the ballots in presence of all committee members and that, for the
first time, news media could attend the process.
There is widespread doubt in Iran about the legitimacy of the
president's re-election. There are reportedly also doubts in the
parliament, which has to approve Ahmadinejad's new cabinet members
next month.
Parliament deputy Heshmat Fallahatpisheh told labour news agency
ILNA Saturday that the special committee should recount 10 per cent
of disputed ballots and if there were any irregularities, then the
committee should recount all ballots cast.
Fallahatpisheh, a member of the parliament9s security commission,
called on both Moussavi and Karroubi to accept the invitation.
Meanwhile, the daily Etemad Melli reported that at least four
ministers from the current government would probably not join the new
cabinet.
It was unclear whether the mentioned ministers - culture, defence,
labour and telecommunication - are not wanted anymore by President
Ahmadinejad or they would themselves quit their jobs.
Moussavi announced on his website that he would request permission
from the interior ministry to hold a peaceful mourning march for the
victims of the recent protest demonstrations.
The ministry has so far rejected such requests but Moussavi said
the constitution grants the right to peaceful gatherings, which
should not be curtailed by the ministry.
Moussavi has several times called on his supporters to keep their
protests within legal frameworks for not risking their lives. His
camp has also said that demonstrations and gatherings not announced
on relevant websites had nothing to do with Moussavi.
At least 25 people were killed in the demonstrations, including
protestors and disciplinary forces.
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