Iranian election officials said on Saturday that incumbent President Mahmud Ahmedinajad won the election by a clear majority, getting twice as many votes as his closest challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi. The Islamic Republic's election commission said Ahmadinejad won 64.8 percent of the votes while Mousavi had just 32 percent support from the 46.2 million electorate.
Ahmadinejad, seeking his second term in office, won most of his votes from the rural heartland.
Voting deadlines were extended several times on Friday to cope with long lines.
Analysts had expected the vote to be a tight race between the hardliner Mahmud Ahmedinajad and the reformist Mousavi.
Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (left) and Hossein Mousavi Mousavi said Bayern Munich sack coach Klinsmann ...
Walk-out at Iran leader's speech ...
Saudis 'to regulate' child brides ... many people had not been able to vote and that there had been a lack of ballot papers.
He also accused the authorities of blocking text messaging, which his campaign has used to reach young, urban voters.
Final election results are not expected until later on Saturday.
Ahmadinejad assumed power four years ago on a pledge to revive the values of the 1979 Islamic revolution. He quickly drew international condemnation after refusing to halt Iran's nuclear programme, rejecting Western charges that it was aimed at building an atomic bomb.
He also denied the Holocaust and called for Israel to be wiped from the map.
In Tehran, hundreds of Mousavi's supporters took to streets to protest the election outcome. There were reports of scuffles between demonstrators and police.
Observers have expressed concern over the possibility of post-election unrest.
nrt/dpa/Reuters/AFP
Editor: Andreas Illmer
(Deutsche Welle)
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