Iran's defeated candidate Rezaei withdraws election complaints

TEHRAN, June 24 (Xinhua) -- Iran's defeated candidate Mohsen Rezaei withdrew his complaint to the Guardian Council over presidential election results, the local satellite Press TV reported on Wednesday.

Rezaei had already filed a number of complaints with the Guardian Council, the country's top legislative body, over the irregularities in the disputed presidential election.

"The (current) political, social and security situation has entered a sensitive and decisive phase, which is more important than the election," Rezaei said in a letter to the Secretary of the Guardian Council Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati.

Despite of his insistence on following the complaints, he withdrew his appeal because of time shortage, Press TV said.

Rezaei came third in the election by winning 678,240 votes.

Reportedly, Rezaei along with two other defeated candidates Mehdi Karroubi and Mir-Hossein Mousavi had reported over 600 irregularities in the electoral process.

On June 13, Iran's Interior Minister Sadeq Mahsouli said incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won 62.63 percent of the total ballots, while his main rival Mir-Hossein Mousavi got 33.75 percent.

The other two candidates -- former parliament speaker Mehdi Karroubi and former Revolutionary Guards chief Mohsen Rezaei -- got less than 2 percent of the total ballots.

After the official declaration, all the three defeated candidates filed complaints over irregularities in the election, while Mousavi and Karroubi have demanded an annulment of the election.

The Guardian Council said on Saturday that it was ready to recount up to 10 percent of the ballot boxes randomly in the disputed presidential election, state television reported.