TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s interior ministry said today President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had a commanding lead after 61 percent of all votes were tallied, but his pro-reform rival countered that he was the clear victor and warned of possible fraud in the national election.
The dispute rose even before polls closed Friday night, heightening tensions across the capital. Mir Hossein Mousavi, the reformist candidate, suggested he might challenge the results.
During the voting, text messages were blocked — a key campaign tool for reformers — as well as some pro-Mousavi Web sites. Security officials warned they would not tolerate political gatherings or rallies before the final results were known.
With more than 20 million votes counted, Ahmadinejad had 66.1 percent and Mousavi had 31.6 percent, said Kamran Daneshjoo, a senior official with the Interior Ministry, which oversees the voting.
The president does not have the power to direct high-level policies, which are dictated solely by the ruling clerics. But the election focused on what the office can influence: boosting Iran’s sinking economy, pressing for greater media and political freedoms, and being Iran’s main envoy to the world.
by the associated press
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