Iran council to meet candidates on vote complaints

Tehran: Iran's top legislative body has invited the three defeated candidates in last week's disputed presidential election to a meeting on Saturday to discuss their complaints, state radio said on Thursday.

A spokesman for the Guardian Council also said the 12-member body had begun the "careful examination" of a total of 646 complaints submitted in connection with the June 12 vote, which official results showed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won.

The three defeated candidates in Iran's presidential election have cited 646 violations in the June 12 poll, electoral watchdog the Guardians Council said on Thursday.

The council's spokesman Abbasali Khadkhodai told state television that one candidate had cited 390 violations, a second 160 and the third 96.

He did identify the candidate making each number of violations.

Ahmadinejad's main challenger in the election, moderate Mirhossein Mousavi has called for the election to be annulled

The council has said it is ready to recount disputed ballot boxes but has ruled out cancelling the election result.