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Iran dismisses British foreign secretaryâ€™s remarks on election

04 March 2012 03:59 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast has dismissed British Foreign Secretary William Hague’s claim that Iranâ€™s parliamentary election was not "free and fair", APA reports quoting Press TV.

Hague’s comments are baseless and reflect Britain’s policy of meddling in Iranâ€™s internal affairs, Mehmanparast said on Saturday.

He accused Hague of trying to downplay the widespread participation of Iranians in the free and fair parliamentary election held on March 2.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman also advised the British authorities to respect the choice made by the Iranian nation and to make efforts to avoid repeating their previous mistakes.

On Friday, the British foreign secretary condemned the way the election was held in Iran and claimed that it was undemocratic and the vote was not free and fair.

More than 64 percent of eligible voters cast ballots in Iranâ€™s parliamentary election, with 75 percent of the candidates from the principlist camp winning seats in the legislature, according to unconfirmed results.

Over 48 million Iranian citizens were eligible to vote in the election, 3.9 million of them for the first time.

Voter turnout in Tehran was 48 percent.

Shortly after the polls closed on Friday evening, Election Headquarters Director Seyyed Sowlat Mortazavi said final results would be announced in 48 to 72 hours.