Iranian hardliners' attempts to resist the country's biggest uprising for decades appeared to be weakening today as popular pressure forced officials to announce a recount of disputed votes from Friday's presidential elections. In a move that appeared to represent a further concession from the authorities, the country's powerful guardian council said it was ready to hold a recount in areas disputed by opposition candidates. No details of the scope of the recount and who would carry it out were available, though the council said it had rejected opposition demands to annul the official result, which saw the hardline incumbent, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, declared winner by a landslide. The council, which consists of 12 senior clerics, was reported to have said that a recount could lead to changes in the votes recorded for the candidates, but some analysts said it would not necessarily bring a change in the final result.
In a move that appeared to represent a further concession from the authorities, the country's powerful guardian council said it was ready to hold a recount in areas disputed by opposition candidates. No details of the scope of the recount and who would carry it out were available, though the council said it had rejected opposition demands to annul the official result, which saw the hardline incumbent, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, declared winner by a landslide.
The council, which consists of 12 senior clerics, was reported to have said that a recount could lead to changes in the votes recorded for the candidates, but some analysts said it would not necessarily bring a change in the final result.
In what appeared to be a first concession by authorities to the protest movement, the 12-man body said it was ready to re-tally votes in the poll, in which hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the runaway winner. But it rejected reformist calls to annul Friday's election, which provoked protests that ended in the deaths of at least seven people on Monday.
But it rejected reformist calls to annul Friday's election, which provoked protests that ended in the deaths of at least seven people on Monday.
