Iranian riot police clashed with protesters on the streets of Tehran yet again today, as the post-election furore remains in full swing. The nation’s Revolutionary Guard has attempted to stifle the demonstrations however, by threatening a “revolutionary confrontation” with the protesters.
The guard accused the protests of being part of an international plot to destabilize the regime, and the government has threatened to ‘review’ its ties with Britain and potentially other western nations for what it perceives as interference in the post election rallies.
The opposition candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi has accused the government of massive voter fraud, and claims he actually won by a wide margin. Though the Guardian Council has confirmed 50 cities had over 100% turnout, and has said that points to at least 3 million fraudulent votes, it has ruled out nullifying the vote.
The Interior Ministry will also be releasing exact box-by-box vote counts in what it claims was an enormous victory for the incumbent President Ahmadinejad. The Guardian Council has insisted that the millions of apparently fraudulent votes would not be enough to alter the outcome, adding fuel to speculation that Ahmadinejad’s camp, despite his dramatic poll lead, may have rigged an election they were already going to win.
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 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 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.