Interior minister: Ahmadinejad wins Iran's presidential election

TEHRAN, June 13 (Xinhua) -- Iran's incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has won a landslide victory in the 10th presidential election, securing a second term of presidency for the next four years, Interior Minister Sadeq Mahsouli said on Saturday afternoon.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad delivers a speech in Tehran, in this file photo taken on Jan. 15, 2009. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has won Iran's 10th presidential election, the country's official news agency said on June 12, 2009. (Xinhua/Liang Youchang)

Ahmadinejad has won 62.63 percent of the total votes counted, while reformist candidate Mir-Housein Mousavi got 33.75 percent of the total votes, the minister said.

The hotly contested presidential election started at 8:00 a.m. local time (0330 GMT) Friday and closed at 22:00 p.m. (1730 GMT) after being extended for several times.

Some 39 million out of 46.2 million eligible voters cast their ballots and the voter turnout is a record high 85 percent.

Shortly after the closing of polling stations on Friday night, Mousavi called a press conference, claiming himself as "definite winner" in the presidential election.

But a few minutes later, the official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) announced that incumbent president Ahmadinejad has won the majority of votes.

"By getting more than 75 percent of votes in the rural areas of the country, Ahmadinejad determinately wins the election," IRNA said.

Local people said the feverish election campaign and high turnout of voters were never seen in all previous presidential elections since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

There are 46.2 million eligible voters for this year's presidential election. A total of 45,713 ballot boxes have been set up in cities, towns and villages nationwide.