Reply #6: Iran's parliament speaker criticizes election authority (CNN)

[IndianaGreen]

Well, CNN finally caught on to the significance of this story, and the fact it was published by a government owned website.

Iran's parliament speaker criticizes election authority

TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- Iran's influential parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani implied Saturday that the election authority sided with a certain candidate as thousands of defiant anti-government protesters once again swept into the streets of the capital.

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"Although the Guardian Council is made up of religious individuals, I wish certain members would not side with a certain presidential candidate," Larijani told the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) on Saturday, without naming whom he meant.

The comments were reported on government-funded Press TV and on another news Web site, Khabaronline, Sunday.

Followers of opposition leader Mir Hossein Moussavi have alleged that the council, which approves all candidates running for office and verifies election results, declared hard-line incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the winner of the elections despite indications of ballot fraud.

Larijani's statement was in direct contrast to that of Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, who considers the possibility of ballot irregularities in the presidential elections as almost nonexistant.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/06/21/iran.election/index.html