Tehran - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has cancelled
a visit to Libya scheduled for Wednesday, the presidential office
said without giving a reason for the decision.
Ahmadinejad had been invited to address an African Union summit
that is being held in Libya Wednesday to Friday.
The cancellation came on the heels of the June 12 presidential
election, of which Ahmadinejad was declared the winner amid
opposition charges of fraud.
Iran's Guardian Council, a legislative body in charge of approving
election results, confirmed Ahmadinejad's re-election Monday after a
partial vote recount and ruled out any further protests by his
challenger Mir-Hossein Moussavi on election fraud.
About 17 people are believed to have been killed during street
demonstrations protesting Ahmadinejad's win. Both Moussavi and
another presidential candidate, Mehdi Karoubi, have called for the
election to be annulled and held again.
Observers said they believe the internal political tension was the
reason behind the cancellation of Ahmadinejad's Libya trip. However,
the president made a visit to Russia four days after the election for
a summit meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. It has
been his only trip abroad since the vote.
Some African leaders had also complained that Ahmadinejad's
attendance at the summit in Libya would detract from the main issues
being discussed there, including raising agricultural investment to
ensure food security.
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