TEHERAN - IRAN'S electoral watchdog the Guardians Council has expressed its readiness to 'randomly' recount up to 10 per cent of ballot boxes from last week's disputed presidential election, state television quoted its spokesman as saying.

'The Guardians Council announces its readiness to recount randomly up to 10 per cent of the ballot boxes in the presence of the representatives of the candidates,' Abbas Ali Khadkhodai said according to the television service website.

He said the council has up to Wednesday to give its final decision.

'But there is no obligation to wait until Wednesday. Whenever our examination is finished and the recount is conducted, we can announce our final say,' Khadkhodai said.

He said Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, the two defeated candidates who did not attend a meeting with the council on Saturday, still have time until Wednesday to discuss the matter.

The other losing candidate Mohsen Rezai, the ex-head of the elite Revolutionary Guards Corps, was the sole complainant who attended the meeting.

The three candidates have cited 646 irregularities committed in the June 12 election process, with Mousavi and Karroubi calling for the cancellation of the result and the holding of a fresh election.