Eight Die in Vote Result Disputes in South Iran

February 22, 2004
Reuters
The Washington Post

TEHRAN -- Eight people have died in clashes with police in two towns in southern Iran over disputed parliamentary election results, local officials said on Sunday.

Four died in the town of Firouzabad in the southern Fars province, in protests on Saturday when the governor's office declared an unexpectedly high turnout in a tight race between a reformist and an Islamic conservative candidate.

"People were calling for the votes to be recounted to stop any possibility of vote-rigging," a local official, who declined to be named, told Reuters.

Another four were killed in the southwestern Khuzestan province when police clashed with a group of people protesting about election results in the town of Izeh, the ISNA students news agency reported, citing an unnamed local official.

The protesters had tried to storm the governor's office and attacked government and judiciary buildings in the town, the official said.

In Firouzabad, a crowd of several hundred people grew angry after one protester was shot and wounded by police.

The protesters began damaging police cars and attacking government buildings and in subsequent clashes "unfortunately three civilians and one policeman were killed on Saturday morning," the local official said.

Islamic conservatives were on course for a big win over reformist allies of President Mohammad Khatami on Sunday in an election branded unfair by Washington due to the prior disqualification of more than 2,000 reformist candidates.