Iran's presidential hopeful predicts presidential contest be extended to run-off

TEHRAN, June 12 -- Iran's presidential hopeful Mohsen Rezaei predicted on Friday that the country's presidential contest to be extended to a run-off, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported.

"Today, one of the greatest political events in the elections history of the country is taking place and I think that the election (contest) to be extended to a run-off," Rezaei was quoted as saying.

According to Iran's election law, any candidate who gains over 50 percent of the vote wins the presidential election. If no winner emerges in the first round, the top two candidates will contest in a run-off one week later.

Rezaei made the remarks while he was talking to the reporters after casting his vote in a mosque in northern Tehran for the country's Presidential elections.

He urgently asked his supporters to participate in the elections and keep their manners.

Concerning the "health of the elections," he said that "the elections should be held healthy and clean and I have asked the people, the youth, the monitors and the Basijis (volunteer militia) to report any case of (elections) irregularities."

"I won't allow any right from anybody to be violated," he added.

The former Revolutionary Guards Chief pointed at some "unethical" behaviors in the election campaigns and said that he is against them.

Rezaei exemplified the cases of "unethical" behaviors as "deception and bribery" and pointed out that such things would not affect the vote of the people."

He expressed hope that such "unethical" behaviors to be removed from the politics and it is replaced by "ethical" behaviors.

As a prestigious economist, Rezaei has already vowed to revolutionize "weak economy" of the country in case to be elected as a president.

Polling stations across Iran opened Friday morning for voting in the country's presidential election which pits incumbent President against three other candidates.

There are 46.2 million eligible voters for this year's presidential election.