Iran Election Rules Require One-Shot Announcement of Results: Minister
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli said he is going to declare the results of Friday's presidential election only once they are finalized, noting that the rule forbids piecemeal release of the vote counts.
Speaking at a television program on Tuesday night, Rahmani Fazli said results of the ballot counts in the Friday’s election should not be publicized at intervals according to the rules, stressing that he himself would announce the official results only once.
The minister also predicted that the president-elect would be known at the Friday’s polls without the need for a run-off, considering the withdrawal of candidates and the coalitions in recent days.
There are currently four candidates running for presidency, including incumbent President Hassan Rouhani, Ebrahim Raisi, Mostafa Hashemitaba, and Mostafa Aqa-Mirsalim. Eshaq Jahangiri and Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf have dropped out of the race in favor of Rouhani and Raisi, respectively.
Elsewhere in his comments, the interior minister said the 12th presidential election and the 5th City and Village Councils elections, to be held simultaneously on Friday, will involve around 1.5 million executive forces and monitors, 350,000 security forces, 70,000 inspectors, and around 100,000 representatives of local governors.
The Interior Ministry, the General Staff of the Armed Forces, and the Police estimated the required number of forces to ensure security of the election at 160,000, Rahmani Fazli added, saying 120,000 forces would be deployed by the Police, while the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) and Basij will supply the 40,000 others.
According to the minister, 63,429 polling stations and 14,000 travelling ballot boxes have been arranged for the upcoming election.
During the previous polls in June 2013, President Hassan Rouhani garnered 50.7 percent of a total of over 36 million votes.
Authorities say the number of eligible voters in the Friday elections stands at more than 56,400,000.
