Democracy in Iran

Well, good ol' Ahmadinejad wins by a large margin (%63-34) while all the major news sources predicted a race that was too close to call and even a possible victory for Moussavi.

This honestly shows the complete lack of Democracy is Iran. It's obvious that Ahmadinejad was chosen by Ayatollah who doesn't want to see a more socially liberal and Westernized Islamic republic that Moussavi represents.

I think that this is a loss for the youth of Iran more than anything, but will not get the rights that they voted for and should have won.

 

Well, duh.

 

Idk, a lot of races that are expected to be close often wind up not being close at all. Despite being the jackass he is, and huge anger at home over the economy, Ahmad does enjoy a lot of support among rural voters and the poor in urban cities, Mousavi had his support from the middle class and students. Which do you think there is more of in Iran? Though the numbers do seem off, especially the fact Ahmadunejad did really well in places that should've been a Mousavi hotspot

 

They aren't taking it too well so far.

That country is ripe for another revolution.

 

The election was painfully and obviously rigged. It sickens me because I thought for a moment there might be something beneficial for Iran happening.

Good for the Iranians that are protesting this! They should be, and with any luck they actually will change something.

It's a new Iran today.

 

My only surprise is that so many people thought it might actually matter who got the most votes. Iran's fundamentalist leaders have many faults. Inconsistency about Western values is not one of them.

 

Ahmadinejad won 70% of an Azeri area of the country, when his opponent is Azeri. He won 60% of Tehran, when even he concedes he's not popular in cities.

It was not only rigged, it was clumsily rigged.

 

Top Pieces of Evidence that the Iranian Presidential Election Was Stolen:

http://www.juancole.com/2009/06/stealing-iranian-election.html

 

everyone is just mad cause the guy the US could push around lost..
has Obama come out and congratulated Ahmadinejad? prolly not.
But sure if the other dood won he would of made a special trip to kiss his ass or camel, whatever is proper over theres

 

who cares? they steal and buy electioons over here in the west. they've done it the past few elections, including the one we just had. Iran's elections being rigged is only a big deal because it's mostly Israeli firsters who see it that way. don't be surprised if this, or something related to this is used as an excuse to turn Iran into ashes.

 

Actually his win was not totally unexpected. But that wouldn't have fanned the drop the bomb winds war.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/based-on-terror-free-tomo_b_215423.html

Much like both of Bush's wins politically it shouldn't have surprised anyone.

 

It was quite obviously rigged.

 

As are most elections, like the last Israeli election.

 

Let's keep our eyes on the prize, shall we?

 

What prize is that exactly?

 

Yeah. Or the last post will be removed and the thread closed.

proof please. predictions of results are not worth jack shit. Why bother having an election at all.....oooooo so everybody thinks person A is going to win ? well thn, lets save some money and skip the election.

and now from the link you posted..
"I am aware of the difficulties of catching history on the run. Some explanation may emerge for Ahmadinejad's upset that does not involve fraud. For instance, it is possible that he has gotten the credit for spreading around a lot of oil money in the form of favors to his constituencies, but somehow managed to escape the blame for the resultant high inflation."

The writer then goes on to type all about how it is a scam....classic blog journo.

 

Just look at the demonstrations in Tehran and the number of people and journalists being detained without charge for no apparent reason. Proof that democracy is being violated enough for you?

 

umm, no. Of course not. Civil unrest and the Govs reaction to it, IS NOT proof of a rigged election.

 

Thousands of people taking to the streets isn't proof that there were voting irregularities?

Tens of thousands of people are denouncing this victory, by far these are the most prominent protests in the history of the Islamic republic. It's widely being viewed as a stolen election, journalists are referring this to a "silent coup", and if you did very basic reading you yourself, can find the truth.

The police just may shoot people again like they did in the 70s, when the Shah police were executing people and raiding homes during the revolution. We'll all have to watch and see, but the response to these thousands of people protesting hasn't all been peaceful and democratic.

I've already cited facts that are flawed to claim that he won the presidential election - the Iranian public is of the opinion that it was flawed and rigged.

Moussavi lost his own district. It's like Obama losing Illinois or Bush losing Texas. There's a widespread view of manipulation. The polls were showing a drastic difference in that Moussavi was going to take the election. Not proof enough?

 

The problem is not exit polls being wrong, it's how wrong they seem compared to how tight this race should've been. While Ahmad does in fact enjoy legit support from the rural and poor, even from those groups he's been taking heat on his handling of the economy and the inflation level in Iran. It's the margin of victory especially in places that should've by all logic been Mousavi hotbeds. Combine this with the shut down of information sources before the election and then after the protests began.

Also, just now shots have been heard in Terhan and at least one protester is dead.