Riots erupt in Tehran over 'stolen' election

[Bluebear]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jun/13/iran-mahmoud-ahmadinejad-riots-tehran-election

Iran is facing political turmoil after hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was confirmed today as the winner of the presidential election and outraged supporters of his chief rival took to the streets to protest against a "dangerous charade" after a record 85% turnout.

Tonight riot police in Tehran faced thousands of angry demonstrators shouting "death to dictatorship" amid shock and confusion after the official result backed Ahmadinejad's claim to have won, made barely an hour after the polls closed on Friday night.

The moderate Mir Hossein Mousavi, who had been widely expected to beat the controversial incumbent if there was a high turnout - or at least do well enough to trigger a second round - insisted he was the victor and appealed against the result to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader. "I personally strongly protest the many obvious violations and I'm warning I will not surrender to this dangerous charade," said Mousavi, a former prime minister. "The result will jeopardise the pillars of the Islamic republic and establish tyranny."

But Khamenei replied that the election had been conducted fairly - dashing short-lived hopes for a recount or annulment of the poll. He ordered the three defeated candidates and their supporters to avoid "provocative" behaviour. "All Iranians must support and help the elected president," he warned.

[aquart]

1. You don't get 85% turnout to confirm an incumbent. You just don't.

Always said he was Iran's George W. Bush.

[Bluebear]

2. >"All Iranians must support and help the elected president," he warned.

Sounds like something Ari Fleischer would say.

[Taverner]

3. Mousavi has been Diebolded, Iranian style

[GoesTo11]

7. Is your picture the three stooges?

[Taverner]

8. Ziggy, Iggy and Lou Reed

[KittyWampus]

12. IIRC, Bowie worked with Stooges. John Cale worked with Stooges. Lou Reed????

[KittyWampus]

11. IMO, it is very inaccurate to mention Diebold. The Right in the USA have managed to make stolen

elections harder to call out. Diebold and BBV have been instrumental in allowing the NeoCons to keep a veneer of Democracy on their election fraud.

Iran is a very different animal.

They totally ignored results, made no attempt to create impression vote was close and created fiction numbers out of whole-cloth.

[Taverner]

13. They're just not as good at stuffing the ballot box as we are

GO USA!!!!

[lpbk2713]

4. Hmmm, Anyone seen Katherine Harris in a burqa lately?

It could happen. :shrug:

[lunatica]

5. Surprise, surprise!

Anyone who believes young people prefer extreme religious leaders who dictate every move is an idiot. Young people are the same no matter what country they're from.

[GoesTo11]

6. This is the government Iranians want

They had their revolution in 1979. They elected the holocaust denying, nuclear bomb building, ranting maniac Ahmadinejad last time. What do they expect? It's not like Mousawi is much different anyway. If you go to bed with a theocracy, you wake up with dictatorial fleas.

[Zynx]

9. I'm not certain that if you gave Iranians a chance to pick a government this

is the one they would want.

[Juche]

10. Everyone but the conservatives were disqualified in 2005

http://www.irannewswatch.com/2005/05/most-iran-reform-candidates.html

Khatami, who was the reform candidate and who won the 2 previous elections before Ahmadinejad had 70% of the vote. No president ever gets 70% of the vote in the US.

Not only that but Ahmadinejad won in part because he is an economic populist and ran on a platform of anti-corruption.