Comments on: Clashes Continue in Iran as Guardian Council Admits to Irregularities http://news.antiwar.com/2009/06/22/clashes-continue-in-iran-as-guardian-council-admits-to-irregularities/ Original and up-to-date news Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:42:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: joeureneck http://news.antiwar.com/2009/06/22/clashes-continue-in-iran-as-guardian-council-admits-to-irregularities/comment-page-1/#comment-2466 joeureneck Tue, 23 Jun 2009 13:20:54 +0000 http://news.antiwar.com/?p=4605#comment-2466 "The Guardian Council has insisted that the millions of apparently fraudulent votes would not be enough to alter the outcome..." Athough this is the latest Western talking point in the accusation of 'fraudulent votes', referring to the 50 cities wherein more votes were cast than the number of residents eligible to vote, the fact that voters are not restricted to casting ballots in their own district should indicate to Jason Ditz a strong note of caution is in order before using this accusation so loosely. "The Guardian Council has insisted that the millions of apparently fraudulent votes would not be enough to alter the outcome…"

Athough this is the latest Western talking point in the accusation of 'fraudulent votes', referring to the 50 cities wherein more votes were cast than the number of residents eligible to vote, the fact that voters are not restricted to casting ballots in their own district should indicate to Jason Ditz a strong note of caution is in order before using this accusation so loosely.

]]> By: joeureneck http://news.antiwar.com/2009/06/22/clashes-continue-in-iran-as-guardian-council-admits-to-irregularities/comment-page-1/#comment-2465 joeureneck Tue, 23 Jun 2009 13:20:38 +0000 http://news.antiwar.com/?p=4605#comment-2465 "The Guardian Council has insisted that the millions of apparently fraudulent votes would not be enough to alter the outcome..." Athough this is the latest Western talking point in the accusaon of 'fraudulent votes', referring to the 50 cities wherein more votes were cast than the number of residents eligible to vote, the fact that voters are not restricted to casting ballots in their own district should indicate to Jason Ditz a strong note of caution is in order before using this accusation so loosely. "The Guardian Council has insisted that the millions of apparently fraudulent votes would not be enough to alter the outcome…"

Athough this is the latest Western talking point in the accusaon of 'fraudulent votes', referring to the 50 cities wherein more votes were cast than the number of residents eligible to vote, the fact that voters are not restricted to casting ballots in their own district should indicate to Jason Ditz a strong note of caution is in order before using this accusation so loosely.

]]> By: nhcatsteve http://news.antiwar.com/2009/06/22/clashes-continue-in-iran-as-guardian-council-admits-to-irregularities/comment-page-1/#comment-2464 nhcatsteve Tue, 23 Jun 2009 13:17:36 +0000 http://news.antiwar.com/?p=4605#comment-2464 The author seems to be intentionally missing the point here. Up to 3 million votes may sound like a lot, but this is a country of over 70 million people, according to wikipedia. Iran's government said they may annul votes from specific ballot boxes affected by this irregularity. This is a minor structural issue in the electoral process, like occurs in countless countries commonly viewed as democratic with free elections. Imagine if after losing the last election, John McCain suddenly claimed the election process was illegitimate because it lacks instant runoff voting, thus oppressing minority opinions and not representing the will of the people. While true, the whole point to elections is that you can't cherry-pick the results and complain about the process only when it doesn't go your way. No one in their right mind should believe for a moment that the election results do not reflect the will of the Iranian people. Ahmadinejad received roughly the same support he has in previous elections, consistent with the results of polls conducted by numerous western organizations. Is he a nasty conservative? Yes, but a democratically elected one. Is the use of riot police on nonviolent protesters ever appropriate? No more than it is when Russia, France, or the US does it. Iran's current conflict needs to be understood in the context of their internal class issues and the malevolent role the US continues to play. We need to remember for once that Iran is a sovereign country that we have no right to interfere with. Anyone suddenly afflicted with concern over human rights need only look at the apartheid fundamentalist state of Israel, where the US is arming the oppressors. Or wonder how the US policy of arming terrorist organizations in Iran serves human rights. Let us not be arrogant, and focus on stopping the harm our nation is doing. The author seems to be intentionally missing the point here. Up to 3 million votes may sound like a lot, but this is a country of over 70 million people, according to wikipedia. Iran's government said they may annul votes from specific ballot boxes affected by this irregularity. This is a minor structural issue in the electoral process, like occurs in countless countries commonly viewed as democratic with free elections.

Imagine if after losing the last election, John McCain suddenly claimed the election process was illegitimate because it lacks instant runoff voting, thus oppressing minority opinions and not representing the will of the people. While true, the whole point to elections is that you can't cherry-pick the results and complain about the process only when it doesn't go your way.

No one in their right mind should believe for a moment that the election results do not reflect the will of the Iranian people. Ahmadinejad received roughly the same support he has in previous elections, consistent with the results of polls conducted by numerous western organizations. Is he a nasty conservative? Yes, but a democratically elected one. Is the use of riot police on nonviolent protesters ever appropriate? No more than it is when Russia, France, or the US does it.

Iran's current conflict needs to be understood in the context of their internal class issues and the malevolent role the US continues to play. We need to remember for once that Iran is a sovereign country that we have no right to interfere with. Anyone suddenly afflicted with concern over human rights need only look at the apartheid fundamentalist state of Israel, where the US is arming the oppressors. Or wonder how the US policy of arming terrorist organizations in Iran serves human rights. Let us not be arrogant, and focus on stopping the harm our nation is doing.

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