Moderate cleric Hassan Rowhani, bolstered by a late surge in support from suppressed Iranian reformists, took an early lead in the presidential election to find a successor to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, initial results showed Saturday.
The first round results gave Rowhani 52 percent of the vote, more than three times as many as his nearest rival, with 18 percent of ballots counted, said the interior ministry.
A former top nuclear negotiator who has vowed to mend Iran's ties with the international community, Rowhani garnered nearly 2,720,000 votes from about 5,211,000 ballots counted by 9:00 am (0430 GMT), the ministry said.
Conservative Tehran mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf was trailing him in second place with 17 percent.
More than 50.5 million Iranians were eligible to vote to find a successor to Ahmadinejad, who after serving two consecutive terms, was constitutionally barred from standing for re-election.
The authorities and media reported massive numbers of people turned out for Friday's election, with Rowhani benefitting from the withdrawal this week of the only other moderate candidate and the backing of former reformist president Mohammad Khatami.
If no candidate gets an overall majority of 50 percent plus one vote in the first round, the top two candidates will square off in a second-round run-off scheduled for June 21.
Rowhani, 64, led talks with world powers over Iran's controversial nuclear ambitions under Khatami's presidency.
During his tenure, in 2003, the Islamic republic agreed to suspend uranium enrichment. It was restarted after Ahmadinejad first became president in 2005.
Iran has been at loggerheads with world powers over its nuclear ambitions, which the West suspects is aimed at developing atomic weapons. The stand-off has resulted in the imposition of harsh economic sanctions and Tehran's international isolation.
While campaigning, Rowhani promised to move to ease those sanctions, which have led to severe economic pain in the country.
Inflation is raging at more than 30 percent, the Iranian currency, the rial, has lost nearly 70 percent of its value, and unemployment is rising.
On the votes counted so far, Rowhani is followed by Qalibaf with 17 percent; top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili with 13 percent; and ex-commander of the Revolutionary Guards Mohsen Rezai with 10 percent. All three of these candidates hail from conservative camps.
Jalili, Qalibaf and ex-former foreign minister Ali Akbar Velayati, another candidate who is behind with only five percent of the votes so far, are all considered close to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Rowhani, who boasts of close relations with moderate ex-president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, also touts his relation with Khamenei, who has final decision on all key state issues, including the nuclear programme.
Rowhani represented Khamenei in the Supreme National Security Council, Iran' top security body, where he also served as its secretary for 16 years until 2005.
In the run-up to the disputed re-election of Ahmadinejad in 2009, official election results were quickly released. But in this campaign, counting of the votes has proved to be time consuming.
Earlier, Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar said in the early hours of Saturday his electoral staff would not "compromise accuracy for speed".
Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei, the spokesman for the Guardians Council electoral watchdog, said late Friday that "no violation" had been reported whatsoever across Iran.
Ahmadinejad's re-election in 2009 sparked massive anti-regime street protests after his opponents and two reformist candidates Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi alleged wide-scale voting fraud.
Those protests, stifled by a brutal regime crackdown, led to the eventual detention under house arrest of Mousavi and Karroubi, and a widespread suppression of reformists.
Rowhani's surge in the campaign came after Khatami publically endorsed him, asking all his supporters to vote for the moderate candidate.
Khatami's endorsement also gave birth to an online movement, with social networkers urging abstentionists not to waste their votes this time around.
"I will vote for Rowhani, even though I do not know him at all and did not want to vote until yesterday," said a man named Ali on his Facebook page.
"I will vote because the consensus of those wanting to save Iran is on Rowhani."
Other net surfers have adopted Rowhani's official colour -- purple -- and his symbol of a key to open the door to solutions for Iran's problems.
AFP
Sat Jun 15 2013
Kerajaan lihat semula perjanjian penjualan air kepada Singapura - Fadillah
Fadillah berkata perkara itu sudah berlaku ketika zaman pentadbiran bekas Perdana Menteri Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad lagi.
Pelancong asing ditahan disyaki cabul pekerja spa di Pulau Perhentian
Polis menahan seorang pelancong lelaki warga Maghribi kerana disyaki mencabul seorang juruterapi wanita rakyat tempatan di Pulau Perhentian.
Warga Thailand seludup diesel dihadapkan mahkamah
Seorang pemandu lori warga Thailand dihadapkan ke mahkamah atas menyeleweng 322 liter minyak diesel minggu lalu.
ADUN Rembia sertai Pas: YB Kampar minta buka riben putih
Susulan pengumuman ADUN Rembia sertai Pas dalam sidang media, YB Kampar, Chong Zhemin kemuka Peraturan Mesyuarat dan menyifatkan satu penghinaan besar buat Parlimen.
#SisiTVParlimen
#AWANInews
#SisiTVParlimen
#AWANInews
Malaysia, Brunei dalam proses rundingan muktamad sempadan darat negara - Mohamad
Mohamad Hasan berkata buat masa ini, kerja-kerja penandaan dan pengukuran di lapangan telah meliputi 175.96 km atau 33.3 peratus daripada keseluruhan jarak sempadan.
Kim Pan Gon undur diri kesan kepada Harimau Malaya
Apa reaksi peminat Harimau Malaya dan penganalisis sukan mengenai peletakan jawatan Kim Pan-Gon?
Masuk Pas untuk sama-sama susah dengan rakyat - ADUN Rembia
Muhamad Jailani berkata, sebelum ini beliau pernah menghantar surat kepada Lembaga Disiplin UMNO memohon untuk memecat keahliannya daripada parti Melayu itu.
Perang berlarutan antara punca kelewatan penghantaran Black Hawk
Perkara itu dimaklumkan pihak Aerotree Defence and Services Sdn Bhd iaitu syarikat yang dipertanggungjawabkan dalam kontrak perolehan perkhidmatan sewaan helikopter berkenaan.
Keghairahan final Euro 2024 dibawakan ke restoran mamak
Kemeriahan dan keghairahan perlawanan final UEFA EURO 2024 antara Sepanyol dengan England di Berlin, Jerman dirasai di Malaysia, dibawakan oleh 'Astro BizOne Watch Party' di Restoran Hakim, Seksyen 7, Shah Alam.
Polis kesan remaja lelaki hilang sejak enam hari lepas
Polis sedang berusaha mengesan seorang remaja lelaki yang dilaporkan hilang oleh keluarganya di Kuala Pilah sejak enam hari lepas.
Pilihan raya mengejut: Amanah gesa PH segera persiapkan jentera
Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) menggesa semua parti komponen Pakatan Harapan (PH) mempersiapkan jentera pilihan raya dengan kadar segera.
Rehat sebentar dari politik Malaysia, hiburkan diri dengan Bruno Mars
Ketika rakyat Malaysia rancak berbual tentang keputusan PRU14, yang sedang diumumkan pada malam ini, penyanyi Bruno Mars menggegarkan Axiata Arena, Bukit Jalil.
Menjelang 'Grand Finale', borak luar garisan politik dominasi media sosial
Pengguna media sosial lebih bebas menyatakan pendapat mengenai PRU14 dan politik dan tidak dibayangi oleh pemimpin-pemimpin atau parti-parti politik.
Undi luar negara tidak beri kesan kepada kerusi marginal?
Walaupun calon Parlimen Pulai mengakui undi luar negara tidak memberi kesan kepada keputusan di kerusi itu kelak, ia tetap tidak mengubah kedudukan kerusi itu sebagai salah satu kerusi marginal.
PRU14: Beban berat buat Fahmi Fadzil untuk teruskan legasi Nurul Izzah
Kerja kuat pencabar daripada BN, Datuk Seri Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin, juga mungkin menyebabkan laluan Fahmi ke Parlimen lebih sukar.
PRU14: Karpet merah atau onak duri menanti Tun M di Langkawi?
Adakah Langkawi bakal beri laluan mudah kepada Tun M?
Climate change in Malaysia and what it means for us
The worlds climate is changing for the worse, and humans are responsible for that. Lets dive into a touch of science to make sense of this.
Beri peluang Umno terajui BN P. Pinang - Reezal Merican
Barisan Nasional (BN) Pulau Pinang wajar memberi peluang kepada Umno untuk mengetuai barisan kepimpinan parti itu bagi memulihkan kepercayaan rakyat di negeri ini.
PR teruskan perhimpunan bantah keputusan PRU-13
Pakatan Rakyat (PR) meneruskan perhimpunan pasca pilihan raya umum ke-13 (PRU-13)di Stadium Kelana Jaya malam ini.
Bantahan terbuka tidak akan ubah keputusan PRU13 - SPR
Sebarang bantahan terbuka atau perhimpunan tidak mampu mengubah keputusan pilihan raya umum atau mengakibatkan ia diadakan semula, kata Pengerusi Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya.