the elections in Iran

This weblog has been silent for a long time, and a lot has happened that I should have commented upon, but have not had the time: the A-H1N1 pandemic; the end of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka; the dramatic drops in international development cooperation as a result of the global economic crisis; the continuing deaths of non-combatants in Afghanistan; the revival of the military commissions in the US, with implications for Omar Khadr; and more.

But today, as protest in Iran gathers pace, it is important to clearly state that the election in Iran last Friday has been stolen. This is not the view of a foreigner who has been deceived by western journalists focusing on Tehran and the educated elite that have been quite public in their support for Mir-Hossein Moussavi. The election results themselves suggest that the election has been stolen.

Consider this: they election results that gave Mahmoud Ahamdi-Nejad 63 per cent of the vote suggest that a core component of Moussavi's support, the urban middle class, in fact voted against him. Educated young people, women, the private business community, and both reformists and conservative figures in the Iranian political establishment--all must have changed their minds and voted for Ahamdi-Nejad. Moussavi is an Azeri: the election results suggest that the Azeri community voted for Ahamdi-Nejad. Even Moussavi's home town is said to have voted for Ahamdi-Nejad. Or consider the position of Mehdi Karoubi, who 4 years ago came very close to beating Ahamdi-Nejad for the Presidency: according to the election results, he did not even win his home province.

The elections in Iran have been rigged. The implications for Iran are far reaching.