The elections in Iran were held on 12 Jun and results declared on 13 Jun. In Iran, elections are held on paper ballot (Not on Electronic Voting Machines) and counting should have taken more time. The complicity of the Supreme Leader in
declaring a win for Ahmadinejad is already established. The post election actions of the Iranian government also confirm the elections were an expensive fraud played out by the Guardian Council (comprising of powerful clerics) on the
people of Iran. Had the elections been a fair democratic exercise, the Supreme Leader would have ordered the probe before announcement of the election results, and not after street protests.
It is not possible that events such as massive demonstrations by students and supporters of pro-reform candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi went un-noticed by Ali Khamenei and the Guardian Council. Neither the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei nor his Guardian Council can pretend to have been unaware of the election fraud. It is no secret that they are the real power behind Ahmedinejad. The following actions of the Government must have had the express sanction of the Ayatollah and his Guardian Council:
declaring a win for Ahmadinejad is already established. The post election actions of the Iranian government also confirm the elections were an expensive fraud played out by the Guardian Council (comprising of powerful clerics) on the
people of Iran. Had the elections been a fair democratic exercise, the Supreme Leader would have ordered the probe before announcement of the election results, and not after street protests.
It is not possible that events such as massive demonstrations by students and supporters of pro-reform candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi went un-noticed by Ali Khamenei and the Guardian Council. Neither the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei nor his Guardian Council can pretend to have been unaware of the election fraud. It is no secret that they are the real power behind Ahmedinejad. The following actions of the Government must have had the express sanction of the Ayatollah and his Guardian Council:
(a) Opposition leaders and protesting students arrested, including the brother of ex-reformist President Khatami.
(b) Local and international phone and text message services interrupted.
(c) Social networking and newspaper websites blocked.
(d) “Heavy electronic jamming" from inside Iran to disrupt its Persian TV service.
(e) International journalists arrested and asked to leave.
(f) Iranian newspapers did not carry reports of the violence.
(g) Internet sites being blocked by the state.
(h) Brutal beatings of students and protesters by Baseeji (Iran’s secret police that operates in civil dress).
(i) Farsi-language satellite broadcasts of Voice of America were blocked over the weekend. Access to the BBC's Persian-language satellite TV channel and the BBC's news website were also curbed.
(j)The Guardian Council had ordered printing of 53 million ballots for the elections, but only 39 million were used. Fourteen million ballots were missing.
Ever since the revolution of 1979 ushered in the Islamic Republic, Iran has been governed by a power structure that combines unelected clerics with an elected legislature and presidency. Under the revolution's principle of velayat e-faqi or
'guardianship of the jurisprudent,' ultimate political authority rests in the hands of the Shi'ite clergy, first among them the Supreme Leader, chosen by an unelected Assembly of Experts. Still, the regime always sought to affirm its
legitimacy through holding elections for parliament and the president.
'guardianship of the jurisprudent,' ultimate political authority rests in the hands of the Shi'ite clergy, first among them the Supreme Leader, chosen by an unelected Assembly of Experts. Still, the regime always sought to affirm its
legitimacy through holding elections for parliament and the president.
The democratic element of Iran's system has functioned as an important safety valve for clerical rule by creating a managed channel for the release of popular frustrations. But now the Supreme Leader appears to have thrown his weight
solidly behind what many are charging is a carefully staged putsch by Ahmadinejad. "The willingness of the regime simply to ignore reality and fabricate election results without the slightest effort to conceal the fraud represents a historic shift in Iran's Islamic revolution.
solidly behind what many are charging is a carefully staged putsch by Ahmadinejad. "The willingness of the regime simply to ignore reality and fabricate election results without the slightest effort to conceal the fraud represents a historic shift in Iran's Islamic revolution.
All previous leaders at least paid lip service to the voice of the Iranian people. This suggests that Iran's leaders are aware of the fact that they have lost credibility in the eyes of their countrymen, so they are dispensing with even the pretense of popular legitimacy in favor of raw power. If the probe establishes there was indeed a fraud committed in electing the President, they too would be proved guilty of having accepted the results. On the other hand, if the probe justifies election of Ahmedinejad, it would only add fuel to the raging fire and justify people's anger against the ruling mullahs of Iran.
For the moment, it seems that by ordering a probe, the Supreme Leader and the Guardian Council have maneouvered themselves between the devil and the deep sea.
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