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Financial TImes’ Clive Crook chimes in.

Mahmoud Ahmedinejad wins in a landslide claiming over 65% of the vote as reported by the state news agencies, however, Mir Hussein Moussavi has also claimed victory citing serious irregularities in the election. He has asked Ayatollah Khamenei to moderate the dispute.

More on this as news comes in.

Polls just closed in Iran and the high turnout might mean trouble for the controversial Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Analysts have predicted that a high turnout will most likely benefit the reformist candidate Mir Hussein Moussavi, who served as prime minister from 1980 to 1988.

Although it is likely that the race will go to a runoff a week later, there has been some speculation that the high turnout will push Mr. Moussavi over the edge giving him the necessary 50% needed to win the race outright. We will be following the race and discuss the results and implications for U.S. policy as they come in.

By a 51-49 margin, former CNN reporter Mauricio Funes has won El Salvador’s presidential election. His party, the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), defeated former police chief Rodrigo Aliva of the incumbent conservative ARENA party.

When I first reported on this upcoming election, I emphasized that the leftist FMLN is a political party that used to consist of Marxist-Leninist guerrilla fighters during the civil war from 1980-1992. Many outside observers should be naturally concerned that another leftist has been elected in Latin America, along with incumbents Hugo Chavez, Evo Morales, and Daniel Ortega. However, we have initial reason to believe that Funes will be more moderate than the other three leaders mentioned.

Funes has stated that he will crack down on business corruption and fight for social inequality, but he said he will still respect private property. Also, he did not seek vengeance on his rival party: “This is not the time for revenge. This is time for political understanding.” In addition, the ruling party respects the election results and has already conceded the election. The fact that the ruling party conceded such a close election suggests that El Salvador will not see political unrest that some other Latin American countries have seen.

I may have been premature to ask if this election mean that El Salvador would become communist, but I ask readers to consider this from the article in my previous post. A Latin American policy expert at the Heritage Foundation believes that Funes will be a front for more radical FMLN party members who are ex-guerrilla members themselves. El Salvador will veer left for the time being; how far left remains to be seen.

Don’t look now, but Sunday’s presidential election could place a charismatic journalist from a Marxist-Leninist party in charge of El Salvador, a country that is currently an American ally. I will offer more comment when the election results are official.