2009 Iranian presidential election
![]() | This article documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The latest updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. (June 2009) |
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Iran's tenth presidential election was held on 12 June 2009.[1][2] The President of Iran is the highest official elected by direct popular vote, but does not control foreign policy or the armed forces. Candidates have to be vetted by the Guardian Council, a twelve member body consisting of six clerics (selected by Iran's Supreme Leader) and six lawyers (proposed by the head of Iran's judicial system and voted in by the Parliament).[3]
The Islamic Republic News Agency, Iran's official news agency, announced that with two-thirds of the votes counted, incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had won the election with 63% of the votes cast,[4] and that Mir-Hossein Mousavi had received 33% of the votes cast.[5][6] Much of the international media, the United Nations, European Union (mainly the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy), United States, Japan, and other western countries, have expressed concern and condemnation over alleged electoral fraud, censorship and police brutality against demonstrations across Iran.[7][8][9][10][11] Meanwhile many Arab League member states, as well as Russia, China, India and Brazil, have congratulated Ahmadinejad on his victory.
Mousavi issued a statement saying, "I'm warning that I won't surrender to this charade," and he urged his backers to fight the decision as well as to avoid committing acts of violence.[9] Protests, in favour of Mousavi and against the alleged fraud, broke out in Tehran. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged the nation to unite behind Ahmadinejad, labeling his victory as a "divine assessment".[12] Mousavi lodged an official appeal against the result to the Guardian Council on 14 June.[13] On 15 June, Khamenei announced there would be an investigation into vote-rigging claims, which would take seven to ten days.[14] On 16 June, the Guardian Council announced it will recount the votes. However, Mousavi stated that 14 million unused ballots were missing, giving a chance to manipulate the results.[15]
Background
Ahmadinejad became President of Iran after the 2005 election. The losing candidates at that time claimed irregularities at the polls, but the charges were not investigated.[12] A formal protest to the Guardian Council was made and the group dismissed it without comment.[16] His victory had surprised most observers of the campaign.[17] At that time the reformist camp had mostly either boycotted elections entirely or held back out of disillusionment with past lack of progress.[18] The voting for the 2009 election was scheduled for 13 June 2009 and ended up being extended until midnight that day because the turnout was unexpectedly high.[3] Voting ended up proceeding four hours longer than originally scheduled.[19]
The President is elected by direct vote, however candidates for the presidency must be approved by the 12-member Council of Guardians. Candidates need to win a majority (more than half) to become President. Iran has a two-round system: if none of the candidates wins the majority in the first round, the top two candidates will go to a run-off. The first round was held on 12 June 2009; the run-off would have been held one week later, on 19 June 2009.[20] All Iranian citizens of age 16 and up are eligible to vote. Both the Iranian Center for Statistics and the Iranian Ministry of the Interior have stated that there are around 46.2 million eligible voters.[21]
Candidates
On 20 May 2009, the Guardian Council officially announced a list of approved candidates, while rejecting a number of registered nominees.[22] Only four candidates were approved by the Guardian Council, out of the 476 men and women who had applied to seek the presidency of Iran in the 2009 election.[23]
Approved candidates
- Conservatives
- Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, incumbent
- Mohsen Rezaee, former Commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and current secretary of the Expediency Council
- Reformists
- Mehdi Karroubi, former Speaker of the Majlis
- Mir-Hossein Mousavi, the last Prime Minister of Iran (Campaign article)
Rejected candidates
- Conservatives
- Rafat Bayat, female Majlis representative from Zanjan[24]
- Independents
- Akbar Alami, former Majlis representative from Tabriz[25][26]
- Ghasem Sholeh-Saadi, former Majlis representative[27]
Withdrawn candidates
- Mohammad Khatami, former President of Iran, has endorsed Mousavi. (See article on Khatami presidential campaign for details.)[28]
Potential candidates
The following people were said to be possible candidates in the election, but did not register within the five days allowed for registration.[29] Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, former President and chairman of the Assembly of Experts, would have been over 75 years old on the election day and therefore ineligible to run by election law.
- Conservatives who declined to run
- Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Mayor of Tehran[30]
- Gholamali Haddad-Adel, former Speaker of the Majlis[citation needed]
- Mohammad Jahromi, Iranian Minister of Labor and Social Affairs[citation needed]
- Ali Larijani, speaker of the Majlis[31]
- Ali Akbar Nategh Nouri, former Speaker of the Majlis[citation needed]
- Mostafa Pour Mohammadi, former Minister of the Interior[32]
- Ali Akbar Velayati, Minister of Foreign Affairs 1981–97[31]
- Reformists who declined to run
- Mohammad Reza Aref, former First Vice President
- Masoumeh Ebtekar[33][34]
- Mohammad Ali Najafi, member of the Tehran City Council and former Minister of Education[citation needed]
- Abdollah Nouri, former Minister of Interior, former Speaker of Tehran City Council[35]
- Hassan Rowhani, former Secretary of National Security Council[citation needed]
Campaign
Background
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4f/Iran_election_%282%29.jpg/220px-Iran_election_%282%29.jpg)
The incumbent was Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The Iranian reform movement attempted to unite behind a single candidate; former President Mohammad Khatami had been the leading opponent to Ahmadinejad in some opinion polls until he withdrew and endorsed former Prime Minister Mir-Hossein Mousavi.[36] Former Speaker of the Majlis Mehdi Karroubi, another Reformist, was also running, as was former Commander of Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Mohsen Rezaee, a Conservative with a reputation of political pragmatism.[21] The election marked a return to the public spotlight for Mousavi, who had not received much attention since he served as Prime Minister in the 1980s.[37] Reformist opinions galvanized around him as the election grew nearer.[3] He became the symbol for a groundswell of youthful democratic sentiment, despite his personal background and his political views.[38]
The Telegraph has described the campaign as "unusually open by Iranian standards, but also highly acrimonious."[10] It was marked by heated rhetoric between the incumbent and his challengers. Mousavi and two other candidates said Ahmadinejad had lied about the state of the economy, which was suffering from high inflation and a fall in oil revenues from last year's record levels. Ahmadinejad responded by comparing his opponents to Adolf Hitler, adding that they could be jailed for their comments. "No one has the right to insult the president, and they did it. And this is a crime. The person who insulted the president should be punished, and the punishment is jail... Such insults and accusations against the government are a return to Hitler's methods, to repeat lies and accusations... until everyone believes those lies," Ahmadinejad said.[37]
Debates about the economy played the biggest role in the campaign, with the global economic recession looming in people's minds.[21] About one in five Iranians live under the poverty line, inflation is at about 25 percent, and unemployment is at over 12.5 percent[39] (some unofficial estimates report it as 30 percent).[15] Mousavi advocated further privatization of the economy towards a free market with a tight monetary policy in comparison to Ahmadinejad's populist fiscal policy, with Ahmadinejad making measures to fight poverty a key principle in his campaign.[17][40] Mousavi drew his electoral base from the middle and upper classes while Ahmadinejad drew support from the urban poor and rural residents.[21] Civil servants, police officers, pensioners, and others dependent on the government also contributed to Ahmadinejad's base.[41] He made financial support from the business class against him into a theme of attack.[39] BBC News has described his campaign as "one that foresees the death of capitalism".[9]
Mousavi also criticized Ahmadinejad for diplomatically isolating Iran by denying the Holocaust and making anti-Western speeches. He opposed the government's current strict enforcement of Islamic dress and social behavior as well,[40] calling for an end to the regime's 'Vice Police'.[42] He advocated letting private individuals and groups own Iranian media.[17] Both candidates strongly supported further development of the Iranian nuclear program.[40] However, Mousavi advocated a less combative and tense tone with other nations about the program.[37] He also floated the idea of an international consortium overseeing uranium enrichment in Iran.[17] BBC News has stated about Mousavi that "[i]n foreign affairs, he seems to be offering little change on major issues".[21] Council on Foreign Relations Senior Fellow Mohamad Bazzi has stated that "[i]f Mousavi wins, it could create a new opening for dialogue with the United States. Ahmadinejad's continued presence would be a major obstacle".[3] Robert Fisk has also remarked that a Mousavi victory would mean closer ties to the U.S.[17]
The campaign was the most expensive in the Islamic republic's history, with the two main candidates spending more than tens of millions of dollars in bid to convince voters to support them. Funds were spent on, among other things, a mass distribution of computerized propaganda, such as CDs and DVDs. Another interesting phenomenon which took place during the campaign was a dramatic rise in the number of text messages sent to Iranian cell phone subscribers, from 60 million messages a day to some 110 million.[39] Mousavi adopted the traditional Islamic color, green, as a campaign symbol. Young male supporters wore green ribbons tied around their wrists and young female supporters wore green headscarves. Activists used the term 'Change' as his main slogan, chanting phrases such as "Green change for Iran", "Together for change", and "Vote for change".[43]
Televised debates
Between 2 June and 8 June 2009 Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting broadcast nightly debates on TV channel IRIB 3 between two candidates at a time, with each candidate facing the others once. This was the first time Iran had held televised debates between candidates.[44] Each debate lasted for around one and a half hours. During the debate on 3 June between President Mahmud Ahmadinejad and reformist rival, former Prime Minister Mir-Hossein Mousavi, Ahmadinejad made accusations regarding former presidents Mohammad Khatami and Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and the Iranian Revolution. Rafsanjani responded to these charges on 9 June in an open letter to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei requesting that he step in to rebuke Ahmadinejad for his comments at the debate.[45][46]
Opinion polls
The opinion polls in Iran have been considered unreliable.[47][48] A number of polls conducted between relatively small voting groups, like university students and workers, have been reported as election propaganda. More general polls reported in the media do not state the polling organization nor the basic facts about the methodology. The results show a high variance and depend heavily on who is reporting the poll.[47][48] In 2002, the polling organization Ayandeh and another polling organization was closed and its directors were arrested.[49] The director of Ayandeh, Abbas Abdi, spent several years in prison.[50]
Mousavi's and Karroubi's campaign posters in Tehran claimed that a high turnout would reduce Ahmadinejad's chance of winning the election.[43] Karroubi's campaign manager, Gholamhossein Karbaschi, claimed that the chance of Ahmadinejad losing the election would be over 65 percent if over 32 million people voted, but less than 35 percent if less than 27 million people voted.[43]
Immediately before the end of the election, the former Iranian president, Khatami, predicted that Mousavi would win.[51]
An independent poll, conducted by Terror Free Tomorrow: The Center for Public Opinion, a nonprofit institute that researches attitudes toward extremism, found that Ahmadinejad was leading by a margin of 2 to 1. 34% said they'd vote for Ahmadinejad, 14% favored Mousavi, 2% favored Karroubi, 1% favored Rezaee and 27% were undecided. The poll was taken from May 11 to May 20. The poll was carried out by a company whose work for ABC News and the BBC in the Middle East has received an Emmy award. Polling itself was funded by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. Writing in the Washington Post, pollsters Ken Ballen and Patrick Doherty have used this to suggest that Ahmadinejad's apparent victory might reflect the will of the Iranian people.[52] The poll was quoted by Reuters,[53] Khaleej Times[54] and Jim Muir of BBC News.[55] However, the Irish Times, while quoting the poll, also pointed out that it was taken three weeks before the election, and electoral campaigning in Iran is only allowed for a period of 30 days prior to the election date, which means this poll was conducted only one week into the campaigning.[56] Another critic of the poll, Mansoor Moaddel, pointed out that of "1,731 people contacted [by the poll], well over half either refused to participate (42.2%) or did not indicate a preferred candidate (15.6%)."[57]
Polling organisation | Date | Poll details | Candidate | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad | Mehdi Karroubi | Mir-Hossein Mousavi | Mohsen Rezaee | |||
ISPA (Iranian Students Polling Association)[58] | 10 June 2009 | National | 47 | Unknown | 31 | Unknown |
reported by Rooz Online[59] | before 9 June 2009 | Nationwide; 7900 people | 23% | Unknown | 54%–57% | Unknown |
Rahbord e Danesh, reported by Tabnak[60] | before 9 June 2009 | 1743 people | 25.5% | 6.1% | 37.6% | 30.8% |
reported by Alef[61] | before 8 June 2009 | Major cities | 61.7 | Unknown | 28 | Unknown |
reported by Alef[61] | before 8 June 2009 | Tehran | 42 | Unknown | 46 | Unknown |
IRIB, reported by Alef[62] | before 7 June 2009 | Tehran | 47.5 | Unknown | 39.9 | Unknown |
IRIB, reported by Alef[62] | before 7 June 2009 | more than 16,000 people, 30 major cities in each Province | 62.7 | Unknown | 25.7 | Unknown |
reported by ILNA[63] | before 5 June 2009 | Nationwide 300,000 people | 24.61% | 10.72% | 54.53% | 10.14% |
Rahbord e Danesh, reported by Tabnak[64] | before 3 June 2009 | 1743 people | 29.5% | 7.5% | 37.5% | 25.2% |
Rayemelat[65] | before 3 June 2009 | Tehran | 33% | 10% | 50% | 6% |
reported by Rajanews/Press TV[66] | before 1 June 2009 | major cities | 53% | Unknown | 36% | Unknown |
Baznevis, reported by Tabnak[67] | before 31 May 2009 | Nationwide; 77,058 people | 33% | 3% | 36% | 27% |
Aftab News, reported by Tabnak[67] | before 31 May 2009 | Nationwide; 18,391 people; (Who will you not vote for?) | (62%) | (7%) | (28%) | (4%) |
Rahbord Danesh, reported by Tabnak[67] | 31 May 2009 | Nationwide | 32% | 6% | 36% | 27% |
ISPA (Iranian Students Polling Association)[68] | 29 May 2009 | National, 11285 people | 54.8 | 4.7 | 21.3 | 2.6 |
reported by Ghalamnews[69] | before 27 May 2009 | 1650 people | 35% | Unknown | 54% | Unknown |
reported by Rayemelat[70] | before 27 May 2009 | Tehran only | 36% | 9% | 48% | 5% |
Young Journalists Club (IRIB affiliated)[71] | before 30 May 2009 | Nationwide; 30,000 people | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th |
reported by Ayandeh News[72] | before 26 May 2009 | 10 major cities | 34% | Unknown | 38% | Unknown |
Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting[72] | before 26 May 2009 | Tehran only | 43% | Unknown | 47% | Unknown |
ABC News and BBC New America Foundation[73] |
May 11-20 2009 | Nationwide; 1001 people, error margin +/-3.1% (27% undecided); (59% satisfied, 23% unsatisfied) | 34% | 2% | 14% | 1% |
reported by Rayemelat[74] | 14 May 2009 | Tehran only | 42% | 6% | 44% | 4% |
Etemad-e-Melli[75] | before 13 May 2009 | Nationwide | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th |
Rahbord Danesh, reported by Tabnak[67] | 5 May 2009 | Nationwide | 38% | 12% | 32% | 15% |
reported by Rajanews/Press TV[76][77] | 3 May 2009–4 May 2009 | 62 cities | 59% | Unknown | 22% | Unknown |
Government[76] | before 3 May 2009 | Unknown | 54% (45% in Tehran) | Unknown | 22% (29% in Tehran) | Unknown |
Rahbord Danesh, reported by Tabnak[67] | 4 April 2009 | Nationwide | 40% | 8% | 24% | 1% |
Worker's Statistical Institute[78] | late March 2009 | Nationwide survey of workers | 36% | 8% | 52% | Unknown |
Rahbord Danesh, reported by Tabnak[67] | 5 March 2009 | Nationwide | 44% | 7% | 13% | 0% |
Irregularities
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/1a/FakeResults_Iran.jpg/200px-FakeResults_Iran.jpg)
Pre-election violence
On 1 June, a campaign office of Ahmadinejad's primary opponent, Mir-Hossein Mousavi, was torched. The office was located in the city of Qum, in northwest Iran. No group claimed responsibility for the attack. At the same time, it was reported that an assassination had been attempted against former president Mohammad Khatami by means of a bomb placed on an aircraft he was to board.[80]
Blocking of communications
Mobile phone communications were interrupted in Tehran on election day and the BBC has stated that "heavy electronic jamming" was being used to halt their broadcasts.[81] On 23 May 2009, the Iranian government temporarily blocked access to Facebook across the country. Gulfnews.com reported that this move was a response to the use of Facebook by candidates running against the incumbent Ahmadinejad.[82] PC World reported that Mousavi's Facebook page had more than 6,600 supporters.[83] Access was restored by 26 May 2009.[84]
Alleged vote rigging or coup attempt
In an interview taken when only the votes from the villages and small cities of the country had been announced, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, official speaker for the Mir-Hossein Mousavi campaign, said he was told that there was to be a coup on Saturday.[85] The New York Times quoted an employee of the Interior Ministry saying that "the government had been preparing its fraud for weeks, purging anyone of doubtful loyalty and importing pliable staff members from around the country."[41] The New Yorker stated that "dissident employees of the Interior Ministry... have reportedly issued an open letter" saying that the election was stolen.[38] The Guardian has also mentioned "reports of a leaked interior ministry figures allegedly suggesting Mousavi had won", although the article questioned the credibility of the report.[14]
The Guardian reported on 17 June 2009 that an Iranian news website identified at least 30 polling sites with turnout over 100% and 200 sites with turnout over 95%.[86] On 21 June 2009, the Guardian Council (an organ of the Iranian government) conceded that the number of votes cast exceeded the number of eligible voters in 50 cities.[87]
Results
Aftermath
Protests
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Iranian_presidential_election%2C_2009%2C_protests_%282%29.jpg/220px-Iranian_presidential_election%2C_2009%2C_protests_%282%29.jpg)
Clashes broke out between police and groups protesting the election results from early morning on Saturday onward. Initially, the protests were largely peaceful. However, as time passed, they became increasingly violent. Some protesters began to get violent after the results of the election were announced. Angry crowds in Tehran broke into shops, tore down signs, and smashed windows.[88] Civil unrest took place as protesters set fire to tires outside the Interior Ministry building and others formed a human chain of around 300 people to close off a major Tehran street.[19]
The demonstrations grew bigger and more heated than the 1999 student protests.[12] Al Jazeera English described the 13 June situation as the "biggest unrest since the 1979 revolution." It also reported that protests seemed spontaneous without any formal organization.[89] Two hundred people protested outside Iran's embassy in London on 13 June.[90] Ynet has stated that "tens of thousands" protested on 13 June.[91] Demonstrators are chanting phrases such as "Down with the dictator", "Death to the dictator", and "Give us our votes back".[9][91] Mousavi has urged for calm and asked that his supporters refrain from acts of violence.[9]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4f/Tehran_protest_%281%29.jpg/220px-Tehran_protest_%281%29.jpg)
Ynet reported on 14 June that two people had died in the rioting so far.[91] That day, protests had been organized in front of the Iranian embassies in Turkey,[16] Dubai,[16] Paris,[92] Berlin,[92] London,[93] Rome,[94] Sydney,[95] Vienna[92] and The Hague.[96] In response to the reformist protests, tens of thousands of people rallied in Tehran on 14 June to support the victory of Ahmadinejad.[13]
On 15 June, Mousavi[97] rallied, with anywhere from hundreds of thousands[42] to three million,[98] of his supporters in Tehran, despite being warned by state officials that any such rally would be illegal. The demonstration, the largest in the Islamic Republic of Iran's 30-year history, was Mousavi's first public appearance after the election. Protests focused around Azadi Tower, around which lines of people stretched for more than nine kilometers met. Gunshots were reported to have been fired at the rally, where Mousavi had spoke to his supporters saying, "The vote of the people is more important than Mousavi or any other person."[16][42] All three opposition candidates appeared.[98]
No violence occurred during the day, with a surprising near absence of state personnel nearby. The situation changed after dark.[98] News agencies report that armed Basij forces have killed at least one protester, with many others injured. The forces fired directly into the crowds after demonstrators pelted them with stones and set the buildings besides them on fire.[42] Some protesters had also tried to break into their compound. In an extremely rare lapse in government censorship, the state media aired clips of the 15 June protests.[16]
Competing rallies for Mousavi and for Ahmadinejad took place on 16 June. The pro-Ahmadinejad protesters, chanting the phrases "Death to America!" and "Death to Israel!", outnumbered their opponents, but they did not match the numbers of opponents who had protested the day before. Reports from the state media and elsewhere stated on 16 June that seven people have died in all of the protests so far.[15][99] However, Times Online quoted a Rasoul Akram Hospital nurse that day who asserted that 28 people have suffered from "bullet wounds" and eight have died so far.[100] Over half a million reformist Iranians marched silently from from Haft-e-Tir Squre to Vali Asr Square on 17 June. The National Iranian American Council stated that day that 32 people had died protesting so far.[42]
According to unconfirmed reports, Iranian authorities have enlisted foreign Arab militant groups to assist in quelling protests. Voice of America reported that the government recruited up to 5,000 fighters from the Lebanese Hezbollah militia to clash with protesters.[101] In addition, On 16 June two protesters told The Jerusalem Post that Palestinian Hamas members were helping the Iranian authorities quell street protests. Hamas, which had formally welcomed incumbent Ahmadinejad's ostensible reelection victory, receives arms and funding from Iran, and its members have often received training there.[102]
Government actions
Arrests
On the weekend of 13 and 14 June, in a series of raids across Tehran, the government arrested over 170 people, according to police officials.[103] Among them were prominent reformist politicians, including MIRO founder Behzad Nabavi, IIPF leader Mohsen Mirdamadi, and former president Mohammad Khatami's brother Mohammad-Reza Khatami, who was later released.[104][105][7] Also arrested were Mostafa Tajzadeh and Mohsen Aminzadeh, whom the IRNA said were involved in orchestrating protests on 13 June.[105] Anonymous sources said that the police stormed the headquarters of the IIPF and arrested a number of people.[12][106] Iranian journalist Mashallah Shamsolvaezin claimed that presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi was put under house arrest, although officials denied this.[107] An estimated 200 people were detained after clashes with students at Tehran university, although many were later released.[108]
Acting Police Chief Ahmad-Reza Radan stated via the state press service on the 14th that “in the interrogation of related rebels, we intend to find the link between the plotters and foreign media".[109] A judiciary spokesman said they had not been arrested but that they were summoned, "warned not to increase tension," and later released.[110] Intelligence minister Gholam Hossein Mohseni-Ejehei linked some arrests to terrorism supported from outside Iran, stating that "more than 20 explosive consignments were discovered".[111] Others, he said, were "counter-revolutionary groups" who had "penetrated election headquarters" of the election candidates.[111]
On 16 June, Reuters reported that former vice-president Mohammad-Ali Abtahi and former presidential advisor Saeed Hajjarian had been arrested.[112] Human rights lawyer Abdolfattah Soltani, who had been demanding a recount of all votes, was also arrested on the Tuesday according to Shirin Ebadi, who said that security officials had posed as clients.[113] Over 100 students were arrested after security forces fired tear gas at protesters at Shiraz university on the same day.[108] Reporters Without Borders reported that 5 of 11 arrested journalists were still detention as of 16 June, and that a further 10 journalists were unaccounted for and may have been arrested.[108]
On 17 June, former foreign minister and secretary-general of the Freedom Movement of Iran, Ebrahim Yazdi, was arrested while undergoing tests at Pars hospital in Tehran.[108][114] He was held overnight in Evin Prison before being released and returning to hospital, where according to Human Rights Watch he remained under guard.[115][116] In Tabriz, other Freedom Movement activists and eight members of the IIPF were arrested, with reports of at least 100 civic figures' arrests.[108] The total number of arrests across Iran since the election was reported as 500.[108]
Aaron Rhodes, a spokesman for the international campaign for human rights in Iran, stated that "Iranian intelligence and security forces are using the public protests to engage in what appears to be a major purge of reform-oriented individuals whose situations in detention could be life-threatening".[108] In Isfahan Province, prosecutor-general Mohammadreza Habibi warned that dissidents could face execution under Islamic law.[117]
Censorship
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/24/Wikinews-logo.svg/40px-Wikinews-logo.svg.png)
According to the Telegraph, on 14 June "Iran's regime was doing its utmost to choke off the flow of news from its capital."[118] Reporters from the Italian public television broadcaster RAI stated that one of its interpreters was beaten with clubs by riot police and the officers then confiscated the cameraman's tapes.[12] The Al Arabiya's offices in Tehran were closed on June 14 for a week by Iranian authorities, who gave no explanation for the decision.[119] Meanwhile, the director of BBC World Service accused the Iranian Government of jamming its broadcasts to the country. Peter Horrocks said audiences in Iran, the Middle East and Europe had been affected by an electronic block on satellites used to broadcast the BBC Persian Television signal to Iran, adding: "It seems to be part of a pattern of behaviour by the Iranian authorities to limit the reporting of the aftermath of the disputed election".[7][120]
Al Jazeera English has leveled allegations of direct media censorship by the Iranian government, stating that "some of the newspapers have been given notices to change their editorials or their main headlines".[4] BBC correspondent John Simpson was arrested, his material confiscated, and then released.[121] NBC News offices in Tehran were raided, with cameras and other equipment confiscated. ABC News reporter Jim Sciutto also has had material taken. People from the German public broadcasters ZDF and ARD have been harassed as well, with men carrying batons and knives reportedly storming the ARD's Tehran office. A BBC corporate official has referred to the network's conflict with the regime as 'electronic warfare'.[42]
On 13 June 2009, when thousands of opposition supporters clashed with the police, Facebook was filtered again. Some news websites were also blocked by the Iranian authorities. Mobile phone services including text messaging also stopped or became very difficult to use.[89] Specifically, all websites affiliated with the BBC were shut off,[9] as were ones with The Guardian.[19] Associated Press labeled the actions "ominous measures apparently seeking to undercut liberal voices".[12] The restrictions were likely intended to prevent Mousavi's supporters from organizing large-scale protests.[110] The protesters used phone calls, e-mails and word of mouth to get around the measures.[16]
Ahmadinejad has responded to concerns by saying, "[d]on't worry about freedom in Iran... Newspapers come and go and reappear. Don't worry about it."[122] In response to the crackdown, anti-regime activists have repeatedly taken down Ahmadinejad's and Khamenei's websites. According to CNN, the United States State Department has worked with Twitter to expand the website's access in Iran.[42]
Iranian political reactions
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a5/Ahmadinejad_Russia_June_2009.jpg/220px-Ahmadinejad_Russia_June_2009.jpg)
- Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei initially urged the nation to unite behind Ahmadinejad, labeling a victory by him as a "divine assessment."[12] On June 15, however, Iran's supreme leader ordered an investigation into the claims of vote fraud.[123] Referring to Mousavi's appeal letter about the irregularities, Khamenei said that "the Guardian Council has been emphasized to carry out investigation into this letter carefully," and probe allegations of Ahmadinejad cheating.[124]
- Interior Minister Sadeq Mahsouli said that he had not received any "written complaint" about election fraud or irregularities. He also remarked that the vote proceeded in a way that "ruled out the possibility of cheating."[2]
- Chairman of the Assembly of Experts Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was reported to have called a meeting of the Assembly, as they have the constitutional power to elect and dismiss the Supreme Leader.[125]
- Incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in a live address on state run television on 13 June, called the election "completely free" and the outcome "a great victory" for Iran. He also said, "[t]oday, the people of Iran have inspired other nations and disappointed their ill-wishers... propaganda facilities outside Iran and sometimes inside Iran were totally mobilized against our people." Ahmadinejad praised the country’s youth as well, but made no direct mention of the protests.[89] He later dismissed the protests, comparing them to "the passions after a football match."[7]
- Mir-Hossein Mousavi, the main opposition candidate, issued a statement saying, "I'm warning that I won't surrender to this manipulation." Mousavi lodged an official appeal against the result to the Guardian Council on 14 June.[13] He is not optimistic about his appeal, saying that many of the group's members "during the election were not impartial".[126]
- Reformist cleric Mehdi Karroubi, another opposition candidate, echoed Mr. Mousavi’s demand for the election to be canceled. He said, "I am announcing again that the elections should not be allowed and the results have no legitimacy or social standing... Therefore, I do not consider Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president of the republic."[104] He later declared in a speech to his supporters in Khoramabad that "this phase [Election dispute] will not subside until we [Reformist leaders] suggest so".[127]
- Mohsen Rezai, On June 17, he gave an ultimatum to Interior Ministry to release details of the results by that day, otherwise he would call for a new election. He said "The unprecedented delay has raised doubts about the possibility of manipulation in the results."[128] However, on July 24 he withdrew formal complaints filed with the Guardian Council, saying that "The [current] political, social and security situation has entered a sensitive and decisive phase, which is more important than the election".[129]
- Gholam Ali Haddad Adel, a former Iranian parliamentary speaker, called on Mousavi to concede defeat, saying that then "everyone will benefit".[15]
- The Association of Combatant Clerics, a moderate reformist clerical body which former President Khatami is a member of, issued a statement posted on reformist web sites saying the election was rigged and calling for it to be canceled, warning that "if this process becomes the norm, the republican aspect of the regime will be damaged and people will lose confidence in the system."[104]
- Former Foreign Minister Ibrahim Yazdi has said, "[w]e don't have any doubt. And as far as we are concerned, it is not legitimate. There were many, many irregularities." He also described the process as a "coup".[130] On 17 June, he was arrested and transferred to prison.[42]
- Reformist politician Ata'ollah Mohajerani blasted the election as "The End of the Islamic Republic".[42]
- Hadi Ghaemi, spokesman for the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, denounced the outcome. He also compared the government's post-election activities to those of the Chinese government during the Tiananmen Square protests.[12]
- In a letter published on his website, reformist cleric Grand Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri stated that government used elections "in the worst way possible. Declaring results that no one in their right mind can believe, and despite all the evidence of crafted results, and to counter people protestations, in front of the eyes of the same nation who carried the weight of a revolution and 8 years of war, in front of the eyes of local and foreign reporters, attacked the children of the people with astonishing violence. And now they are attempting a purge, arresting intellectuals, political opponents and Scientists."[131]
- The Iranian national soccer team playing in their World Cup Qualifier wore green wristbands in support for Mousavi.[42]
- Popular classical musician Mohammad Reza Shajarian demanded that Iranian government television and radio never play his music again after Ahmadinejad called Mousavi supporters "brushwood and thorns". Shajarian remarked, "my voice is like brushwood and thorns".[42]
- British politician George Galloway has stated that Ahmadinejad "is the president of an important country and we'll just have to accept it."[132]
- According to three Iranian newspapers 105 of 290 members of the Iranian Parliament invited to attend a June 24 victory party for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attended the event, suggesting, according to the American New York Times newspaper, "a deep divide within the political elite over the election and its aftermath."[133]
International reactions
See also
References
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{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ Ahmadinejad Assails Obama as Opposition Urges Defiance, By NAZILA FATHI and ALAN COWELL
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
Official links
- Coordination site for Ahmadinejad's supporters
- Mir-Hossein Mousavi campaign site
- Mehdi Karroubi campaign site
- Mohsen Rezaee campaign site
Election aftermath
- Who's Who in Iran? by BBC News
- Rafsanjani's Gambit Backfires
- Letter from Mousavi to the Guardian Council - Challenging the Results
- Don't Assume Ahmadinejad Really Lost by Robert Baer, Time Magazine, June 16 2009
- Iranian Protesters Fill Streets After Election Result - slideshow by The New York Times
- The Big Picture: Iran's Disputed Election - high res images by The Boston Globe
- Flickr Photos - Iranian Elections 2009 From The Beginning
- Coverage from the Huffington Post: Live-Blogging The Uprising, Aljazeera, BBC, New York Times, The Globe Opinion
- Iranian Elections: The ‘Stolen Elections’ Hoax by Professor James Petras.