That is, according to IRNA.
The state election commission said early Saturday that Ahmadinejad, a hardline conservative, was ahead with 66 percent of the votes in Friday's election after 21 million ballots were counted.
Ahmadinejad's main challenger, moderate former prime minister Mirhossein Mousavi, had 31 percent, according to the commission, which is part of the Interior Ministry. It said 61 percent of all ballot boxes had now been counted.
The official news agency IRNA said: "Dr Ahmadinejad, by winning most votes at the 10th presidential election, has secured his victory."
I particularly love the way al-Reuters refers to Ahmadinejad as "a hardline conservative" and Mousavi as a "moderate".There's maybe a dime's worth of difference between them.
'Moderate' Mousavi's biggest backer was none other than the 'moderate' former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rasfanjani, who famously said that the 'Israel problem' could be solved by one nuclear bomb.
Neither one of them would have been allowed to run for office without the express permission of the Supreme Council of Guardians and its leader Ayatollah Khamenei and especially not without agreeing to follow orders. And anyone who thinks that Mousavi being 'elected' would have marked any change to some kind of new order in Iran is simply kidding themselves.
What little difference there was involved class. Mousavu represented the older, kleptocratic, more elitist order and had support from the more educated classes in Tehran ( including a number of students) while Ahmadinejad was more of a populist with solid following among the baseji, rural areas and the working classes. The only reason Mousavi was on the ballot in the first place was as a possible gambit by the Mullahs if they felt it might be better to have a new face up front instead of Ahmadinejad to buy a bit more time until Iran's nukes are completed.
The key to their decision to go with Ahmadinejad was Obama's performance in Cairo. After that, they obviously felt no need to make the effort and came down solidly on the side of Ahmadinejad.
Mousavi claimed numerous voting irregularities and at one point tried to declare himself the winner, but this is pure kabuki. There may be a few scuffles and a little shouting from Mousavi's followers to let off some steam, but it's over.
The mullahs have spoken. And that's where the real power lies in Iran.
Rasfanjani, who famously said that the 'Israel problem' could be solved by one nuclear bomb.
ReplyDeletei have never understood why jooos find this statement offensive. maybe some joos lack the testicular fortitude to solve the israel problem.
one nuclear bomb *would* solve the israel problem.
dropped right in the middle of teheran.
there, israel problem solved.
i, on the other hand, would use about forty or fifty.
geez, do i have to think of everything?
thanks to ff for keeping us abreast of these developments. you would think for all the claims monkey boy makes about politics he would have something to say about this so-called election.
if he'd sober up long enough to plagarize one of ff essays.
mullahs? no, the people of iran have spoken and they voted as they wished. They don't need america or israel to tell 'em who to vote for, they have their own heads.
ReplyDeleteAre you denying that the mullahs handpick all candidates, and that neither Ahmadinejad or Mousawi would have been able to run unless they agreed to follow orders?
ReplyDeleteFine by me, Anonymous.
But assuming you're right (and you aren't) let's remember that choices have consequences.