How Ahmadinejad Stole an Election

And how he can fix It

Balatarin
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How Ahmadinejad Stole an Election
by Mehdi Khalaki & Robert Pastor
22-Aug-2009
 

Rarely does a country have such a clear choice as Iran did on June 12. On that day, nearly 40 million people voted for a president. The incumbent, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, pledged to continue his economic policies and his anti-Western, Holocaust-denying, nuclear-confrontational approach. His main opponent, Mir Hossein Mousavi, promised economic reform, increasing openness with the West, human rights, and nuclear negotiations.

While some polling stations were still open, the Interior Ministry declared Ahmadinejad the winner by a landslide. The opposition rejected it, and despite arrests and beatings, the protests have continued. Ahmadinejad's and Mousavi's supporters both proclaim their candidate won.

But to all others, it is clear there were substantial irregularities. Although Ahmadinejad's crackdown appears designed to end questions about his legitimacy, even conservative clerics are demanding answers from the state. Here is what we know happened -- and a plan to prevent fraud in the next election.

Using even a minimal standard, there are good reasons for Iranians not to trust election results. The president-controlled Interior Ministry conducts elections in Iran. It denies opposition observers access to polling stations and counts the votes. Only half of Mousavi's observers were permitted to observe polling stations in the capital city of Tehran; they had even less access in the rest of the country. None of the observers were permitted to see whether the ballot boxes were empty when the vote began. Nor were they permitted to accompany the mobile ballot boxes, which collected nearly one-third of the votes. And no Mousavi or impartial observers accompanied the ballot boxes from local wards to the provincial committees and finally to Tehran for the count.

Before the election, the reformists' Committee for Safeguarding the Votes expressed concern that 54 million ballots were printed -- millions more than for past elections and 8 million more than the number of eligible voters. Moreover, some ballots did not have serial numbers. About 40 million people voted, but no one accounted for the other 14 million ballots.

The Committee for Safeguarding the Votes also said it found a large number of Mousavi votes after the election, including some in the northern forests of Iran. It surmised that these votes were removed from the boxes and replaced with votes for Ahmadinejad. Mousavi himself claims he has evidence that the total number of votes exceeded the number of eligible voters by as much as 40 percent in more than 170 constituencies. Some of the party observers claim ballots for Ahmadinejad featured the same handwriting in the same ink.

These accusations of fraud are credible. Even the conservative Guardian Council has acknowledged that as many as 3 million votes might have been fraudulent. But, given the way the system operates, no one knows with certainty how many votes were legitimate and how much fraud occurred.

In many other countries with rigged electoral systems, opposition members boycott. That did not happen in Iran -- and now, millions are risking their lives to compel the authorities to count their votes accurately. As the protest moves to its next phase, the country could stave off a crisis by agreeing to four fundamental electoral safeguards.

The single most important step is to transfer election responsibilities from the Interior Ministry and the Guardian Council to a nonpartisan and independent national election commission. Iran should also create a nonpartisan elections court, composed of judges and lawyers. All the major political parties should have a veto on nominees so as to ensure that the judges are acceptable to all the parties.

Second, the Election Commission should certify the candidates according to clear and fair criteria, and they should prevent any intimidation, and guarantee access to the entire electoral process by domestic and international election observers. Domestic observers are absolutely essential to assuring a free election and detecting fraud; and international observers help the process by magnifying the voice of the domestic observers.

Third, the ballot boxes should be opened for all to see before the election begins, and observers should accompany mobile and other ballot boxes through the day.

Finally, counting should occur at every polling site. Observers should watch the count, sign the declaration of results, and keep a copy. The final announcement should publicize the results of each of the polling stations, so that people can detect any vote discrepancy.

Much else needs to be done to build confidence in the electoral process and assure votes are counted fairly. But if these four fundamental elements of electoral reform are accepted and implemented, the next election in Iran would be much freer and fairer. The reforms would also allow Iranians and the world to locate and denounce any fraud. The opposition has asked for a new election, but without these four reforms, that is unlikely to be any fairer than the previous one. Only with such reforms can Iranians know when their votes count, and when their voices are stolen.

What role should the West and the United States play at this time? It is obvious that Ahmadinejad and his allies would like to blame all of Iran's problems on the West -- especially the United States and Britain. The government's case against the opposition is that its members are surrogates of the West. For these countries to be seen as meddling in Iran's affairs would be counter-productive.

On the other hand, the democratic community cannot be silent; it needs to find the most appropriate and legitimate way to express its support for democracy in Iran and elsewhere. The best way to reconcile these two somewhat conflicted messages -- avoid meddling but provide more support for Iran's democrats -- is if the world's great Muslim democracies, which have diplomatic relations with Iran -- like Indonesia and Lebanon -- to carry the message. Those countries should propose a resolution to the U.N. Human Rights Council, calling for an end to repression and for genuine electoral reform.

It now appears that Ahmadinejad will try to consolidate a hard-line government and will ruthlessly suppress all legitimate protest movements. If he chooses this path, he will further undermine his efforts to win legitimacy.

The battle for reform has just begun. The only question is when it will prevail. Within Iran's regime, a group of clerics holds that the Islamic Republic should be genuinely democratic. In the end, the major hope for democracy will depend on their acknowledging the flaws in the electoral system and deciding to reform it.

AUTHORS
Mehdi Khalaji is a senior fellow at The Washington Institute, focusing on Iranian politics and the politics of Shiite groups in the Middle East. Robert Pastor is a professor and co-director of the Center for Democracy and Election Management at American University. First published in ForeignPolicy.com.

Balatarin
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gol-dust

Ahmadinejad is legitimate! According to Khamenei! Good enough?

by gol-dust on Tue Aug 25, 2009 10:17 PM PDT

C'mon guy, why do you still argue about this? Even the head of the guardian BS for election said that:

"vote is only one aspect of the election. there are other things that have to be taken into consideration. We have to see who is more suited to run the country. It is not enough just to have the majority vote."

So let's not fool ourselves and waste our time. Khamenei has decided, not people. It is the IRI constitution. Not happy? overthrow the assholes!


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Ali Akbar

I agree with all your points except for 1......

by Ali Akbar on Tue Aug 25, 2009 05:40 PM PDT

there is no way in hell or earth that  Mahmoud Ahmadinejad recieved more than 40 million votes....  maybe 10 million

 

 

but never 40 million 


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shushtari

mehdi, you said it perfectly brother!

by shushtari on Tue Aug 25, 2009 12:41 PM PDT

I wish there was another way, but armed uprising is the only way....

even gandhi would pick up an ak47 to shoot these akhoonds!!! LOL

they need to be put on a ship and send to yemen or somewhere....or maybe there may an 'accident' on the way, and the ship sinks :)

 

either way, the mullahs are done for good.....they're trying to turn iran into north korea with an amaame but the young brave sons and daughters of iran are not the fools that their parent were back in 79....

the jig is up boys, and payback is a.....well, we all know!

payande iran and its wonderful sons and daughters 


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Kaveh Nouraee

Reform? Are you kidding?

by Kaveh Nouraee on Mon Aug 24, 2009 03:11 PM PDT

You can teach a pig to swim, but that doesn't make it into a fish.

How Ahmadinejad stole an election?

He didn't. Someone of AN's ilk lacks the cerebral qualities necessary to tie his own shoes, let alone rig an election involving 40 million-odd votes. His handler/benefactor/daddy Khamenei and other assorted goons in the IR rigged this in such an obvious way in order to further their own corrupt agenda.

How can he fix it?

Simple. He can drop dead.


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default

vildemose

by KouroshS on Mon Aug 24, 2009 12:56 PM PDT

Some iranians do and MOST do not. Since when did this regime raise anyone's expectations or instill hope in anyone, other than those who have intimate and vital contacts with them?


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mehdi2009

Fix what?!! Rotten Regime can't be fixed

by mehdi2009 on Mon Aug 24, 2009 12:43 PM PDT

Dear Mr. Khalaji,

What is it with you apologist people? Either you are on some kind of narcatics or have NO SHAME. Maybe you live in a Parallel Universe which is devoid of realities.

I went for a month to Iran this summer just a few days before the so called election (Selection actually) to visit my ailing parents. The atmosphere on the streets was one of hope that people actually thought that they may get rid of Ahmadinejad once and for all. However I reminded them and in particular many of the young people that I met, that this regime is not capable of reform as its Whole foundation is ROTTEN to the CORE. I don't need to remind every one what happened next, we all know that after their fraud was revealed these Barbaric people with ther stone age mentality unleashed their wild dogs on the people of Iran.

 You have to understand that the days of $150 Barrel of Oil is LONG Gone, and because of the Brilliant Economic Planning of Ahmadinejad's administration, country is in financial Ruins. There are 1.5 million young people joining the Job Market every year, and this regime at best has not been able to create more than 200,000 per year (if you call them jobs); the REAL inflation is at 35% and you add to all of that the social restrictions and the daily humiliations, and Mr. KHALAJI YOU WANT HIM TO FIX WHAT EXACTLY?

Iranians who live and deal with this Disgusting, Corrupt, Criminal and Evil regime on a daily basis, only ask for a minimal right to choose their own form of government (whether Constitutianl Monarchy or a Truely Demotratic Republic) in a referundom, followed by choosing their own representatives.

Darius Kadivar in earlier posting has put it right; "all you apologists are doing is prolonging the life of this monsterous and dying regime". If you really think these low lives are great, I advise you to take a trip to Iran, and see for youself that people do not want this regime. Their Dog and Pony show is over, and nobody inside or outside Iran is buying their crap any more.

The young men and women in Iran as I have said many times before are among the brightest, smartest and most sophisticated generations that our land has ever produced. They will not be fooled like their parents did 30 years ago, and they will put an end to this nightmare once and for all.

Salutations to all Sons and Daughters of Iran.

Mehdi2009


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vildemose

For years the Islamic

by vildemose on Mon Aug 24, 2009 12:03 PM PDT

For years the Islamic establishment has raised the hopes of people for change and then shatters them to reinforce apathy, fear, and ultimately utter hopelessness.Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Why do Iranians insist on believing that salvation can only come through this regime?


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gol-dust

Increased the military's salary before & cut it after election!!

by gol-dust on Sun Aug 23, 2009 10:00 PM PDT

You are talking about stealing the election. They did all they could. Just talking to my family who complained about the unbelievable inflation. They told me that he increased the salary of the armed forces by about 15% before the election and cut it right after!!!! Can you believe the thieves?

Interesting to hear from them that even though they proteseted against ahmadinejad and for Mousavi, they think none of them would do much good for the people. They consider them an internal fight between two mafia gangs!  One for baazari and the other aginst baazari!


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benross

Thank you

by benross on Sun Aug 23, 2009 04:30 PM PDT

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to set aside our differences and laugh at you.


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NASSER SHIRAKBARI

Khamenei Responds

by NASSER SHIRAKBARI on Sun Aug 23, 2009 03:36 PM PDT

Ingenious, you made me laugh.


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NASSER SHIRAKBARI

Election in Iran

by NASSER SHIRAKBARI on Sun Aug 23, 2009 03:21 PM PDT

IRI is a Republican Dictatorship.  Their set up is designed to control the elections.  They do not care what anybody thinks.  We are not talking about rational people.  Only a regime change can use your suggestions, which are very good indeed.


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Ari Siletz

Khamenei responds

by Ari Siletz on Sun Aug 23, 2009 03:09 PM PDT

Dear authors,   Since fair elections are my highest priority, my office will soon contact you for further guidance.

Love,

Supreme Leader


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Minoo66

He Only Stole A Mirage!

by Minoo66 on Sun Aug 23, 2009 03:11 PM PDT

Nobody stole an election, there was no such thing, as a fair election,  in the first place, let alone being stolen.

What happened should've worked like a wake-up call. I am not sure we are all on the same page on this issue.


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Peyman.org

30 years of elections stolen

by Peyman.org on Sun Aug 23, 2009 12:15 PM PDT

When you have to choose between 4 people of the same family you don't have democratic election.

Election in Islamic republic is a contradiction.


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Darius Kadivar

FYI/Rafsanjani Calls For Unity, Declares Support For Khamenei

by Darius Kadivar on Sun Aug 23, 2009 12:05 PM PDT

Surprised ? ... ;0)

//news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8216533.stm

NEVER TRUST THE MULLAH's

I WAS, AM, AND WILL BE FOR REGIME CHANGE !

DOWN WITH THE IRI !


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vildemose

بنظر شما

vildemose
Sun Aug 23, 2009 11:28 AM PDT

بنظر شما کدامیک از جنایاتی که در این دو سه ماهه اخیر رخ داده هولناکتر و تاسف‌بارتر بود؟
مرگ ندا و آن آخرین نگاهش؟
به خون غلتیدن جوانان بی گناه بر روی آسفالت گرم خیابان؟
ضرب و شتم زنان باردار و مردان سالخورده با باتون و زنجیر و میلگرد؟
ریختن مغول‌وار به منازل مردم و تخریب اموال آنها؟
بازداشتهای فله‌ای افراد و بی‌خبر گذاشتن خانواده‌های آنان از وضعیت عزیزانشان؟
بدرفتاری با زندانیان و شکنجه و حبس انفرادی آنان؟
تجاوز وحشیانه به دختران و پسران؟ و سوزاندن جسد آنان؟
برپایی بی‌دادگاههای مضحک و اعترافات ساختگی زندانیان؟
دروغگویی و شانتاژ تبلیغاتی در صدا و سیما و کیهان و حق را باطل جلوه دادن و سرپوش نهادن بر واقعیت‌ها؟

نه! بنظر من همه اینها «جنایت» بود ولی اتفاق تازه‌ای نبود. سی سال است که در این نظام اینگونه جرم و جنایات به کرات اتفاق افتاده و شاید بدتر از اینها هم بوده که شما گاه و بیگاه چیزهایی خوانده و یا شنیده‌اید.
اما هیچکدام از این جنایات به اندازه خود عمل تقلب در انتخابات دردناکتر و تاسف بارتر نبود. شما عمق فاجعه را در انتخاب شدن یا نشدن موسوی و کروبی و یا احمدی‌نژاد نبینید. مهم این بود که این بی‌پدرها یک ملت بزرگ را تحقیر کردند

.
مردم با ذوق و شوق فراوان به پای صندوقها رفتند و این ناجوانمردها در روز روشن به ریش مردم خندیدند و به کاندیداها بصورت سهمیه‌ای رای‌ها را اختصاص دادند. سهمیه آقای کروبی در کل کشور فقط سیصدهزار تا! آنوقت رهبر احمق و بی‌شعورشان آمد و در نماز جمعه با کمال وقاحت گفت چون اختلاف آرا زیاد است پس احتمال تقلب نیست!
خب! مردک! این اختلاف ساختگی آرا کار خودت و اون باند تبهکارت بوده و نه کار مردم.

این معنی‌اش فقط یک تقلب معمولی نبود. تمسخر مردم بود. تمسخر انتخابات و رای مردم. تمسخر دمکراسی و تحقیر جمهوریت.//mollah.blogspot.com/


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vildemose

The onerous structure of IRI

by vildemose on Sat Aug 22, 2009 11:16 PM PDT

The onerous structure of IRI wasn't reformable before this election debacle and is less so now.


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Iranyvaliazad

Stopped reading this non-sense at

by Iranyvaliazad on Sat Aug 22, 2009 07:26 PM PDT

"The single most important step is to transfer election responsibilities
from the Interior Ministry and the Guardian Council to a nonpartisan
and independent national election commission."

 

This bacheh akhund doesn't even wait for the blood on streets to dry up before opening his toilet hole and speak.  Didn't your master say, he is God on earth and elections are meaningless in Iran ... What are this BS you are trying to sell?


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benross

What about a referendum?

by benross on Sat Aug 22, 2009 05:35 PM PDT

If you don't speak on behalf of a politician, or on behalf of Iranian people (who didn't choose you as a speaker) and if you care so much about elections and the result of the elections, I wonder what you'd think about my idea.

//iranian.com/main/node/77106


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vildemose

DK: Who is Sajadi? I

by vildemose on Sat Aug 22, 2009 04:10 PM PDT

DK: Who is Sajadi? I think his father is a vested mullah in Iran.

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vildemose

Is he the same Khalaji of

by vildemose on Sat Aug 22, 2009 03:59 PM PDT

Is he the same Khalaji of the American Enterprise Institute??''

 

 


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Darius Kadivar

FYI/Fatemeh Haghighatjoo: Female Ministers should Resign

by Darius Kadivar on Sat Aug 22, 2009 03:32 PM PDT

On VOA Persian ZANEH ROOZ former deputy of the Islamic Republic Parliament now in exile Fatemeh Haghighatjoo says that the female ministers should resign and be ashamed of taking part in the current illegitimate government of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. She also slams Polygamy and other issues related to the condition of women in Iran.

Approximately half way in the program.

Watch Here


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