Iranian voting fraud claims rejected

IRAN officials yesterday dismissed allegations of vote rigging in the presidential election, clearing the way for a run-off vote.

Friday’s run-off will be between the top two candidates in last week’s first round - former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and hard-line Tehran mayor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Mr Rafsanjani, 70, bidding to regain the post he held from 1989 to 1997, rebranded himself as a liberal for the campaign, saying the time was right to open a new chapter in Iran-US ties and signalling he would increase social and political freedoms.