Iranian council offers Moussavi deal to settle dispute (1st Lead)

Jun 27, 2009, 7:06 GMT

Tehran - Iran's Guardian Council offered opposition leader Mir-Hossein Moussavi a deal to settle the dispute over alleged fraud in the June 12 presidential election, ISNA news agency reported Saturday.

Council spokesman Abbas-Ali Kadkhodaei said a special committee would be formed to review the disputed election results that gave President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a controversial victory.

The council also called on Moussavi and fellow defeated presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi to send representatives within 24 hours to join the committee.

Moussavi demanded an independent committee to evaluate the election results, but Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected it, saying prevailing laws and the constitution gave the Guardian Council sole authority regarding election results.

Moussavi and other opposition groups argued that the Guardian Council was neither qualified nor sufficiently impartial to review the results, as most of its 12 members support Ahmadinejad.

The council's new offer is believed to be an effort by the Iranian administration to find a compromise with the opposition leader. Kadkhodaei said it was meant to 'attract trust' of Moussavi.

The spokesman said Friday that there were no major violations in the elections, and described them as the 'healthiest' since the 1979 revolution.

Kadkhodaei said the council also agreed to recount 10 per cent of the ballots in presence of all committee members and that, for the first time, news media could attend the process.

There is widespread doubt in Iran about the legitimacy of the president's re-election. There are reportedly also doubts in the parliament, which has to approve Ahmadinejad's new cabinet members next month.

Parliament deputy Heshmat Fallahatpisheh told labour news agency ILNA Saturday that the special committee should recount 10 per cent of disputed ballots and if there were any irregularities, then the committee should recount all ballots cast.

Fallahatpisheh, a member of the parliament9s security commission, called on both Moussavi and Karroubi to accept the invitation.

Meanwhile, the daily Etemad Melli reported that at least four ministers from the current government would probably not join the new cabinet.

It was unclear whether the mentioned ministers - culture, defence, labour and telecommunication - are not wanted anymore by President Ahmadinejad or they would themselves quit their jobs.

Moussavi announced on his website that he would request permission from the interior ministry to hold a peaceful mourning march for the victims of the recent protest demonstrations.

The ministry has so far rejected such requests but Moussavi said the constitution grants the right to peaceful gatherings, which should not be curtailed by the ministry.

Moussavi has several times called on his supporters to keep their protests within legal frameworks for not risking their lives. His camp has also said that demonstrations and gatherings not announced on relevant websites had nothing to do with Moussavi.

At least 25 people were killed in the demonstrations, including protestors and disciplinary forces.