December 22, 2006
Results of Elections Reflect Poorly on Ahmadinejad
By NAZILA FATHI
TEHRAN, Dec. 21 — President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad suffered a major setback with the announcement on Thursday of results in city council elections nationwide. In Tehran, where he was mayor before he was elected president 18 months ago, his allies won only 2 of the 15 seats.
Nationwide, his allies won fewer than 20 percent of the city council seats in the elections, held last Friday.
In the politically influential Tehran council, which commands a large budget, four seats went to reformist politicians and eight to moderate conservatives close to the current mayor, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf. The winners for those slates included three prominent athletes. An independent candidate also won a seat.
Reformist politicians complained about the vote count, which was controlled by Mr. Ahmadinejad and Mr. Qalibaf. Reformist members of Parliament were barred from monitoring the counting.
But since the elections, some of the most outspoken critics of Mr. Ahmadinejad, a leader whose extreme views have been criticized in the West, have been his former supporters here.
Emad Afrough, a former supporter, said the vote was a rejection of Mr. Ahmadinejad’s “superstitious and populist tendencies,” the news agency ISNA reported.
“People said ‘no’ to a superficial interpretation of justice that cannot tolerate cultural, political and economic aspects of justice and does not respect the rights of citizens,” Mr. Afrough was quoted as saying, referring to the crackdown on civil liberties by Mr. Ahmadinejad.
Jon Stewart's Commentary:
Results of Elections Reflect Poorly on Ahmadinejad
By NAZILA FATHI
TEHRAN, Dec. 21 — President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad suffered a major setback with the announcement on Thursday of results in city council elections nationwide. In Tehran, where he was mayor before he was elected president 18 months ago, his allies won only 2 of the 15 seats.
Nationwide, his allies won fewer than 20 percent of the city council seats in the elections, held last Friday.
In the politically influential Tehran council, which commands a large budget, four seats went to reformist politicians and eight to moderate conservatives close to the current mayor, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf. The winners for those slates included three prominent athletes. An independent candidate also won a seat.
Reformist politicians complained about the vote count, which was controlled by Mr. Ahmadinejad and Mr. Qalibaf. Reformist members of Parliament were barred from monitoring the counting.
But since the elections, some of the most outspoken critics of Mr. Ahmadinejad, a leader whose extreme views have been criticized in the West, have been his former supporters here.
Emad Afrough, a former supporter, said the vote was a rejection of Mr. Ahmadinejad’s “superstitious and populist tendencies,” the news agency ISNA reported.
“People said ‘no’ to a superficial interpretation of justice that cannot tolerate cultural, political and economic aspects of justice and does not respect the rights of citizens,” Mr. Afrough was quoted as saying, referring to the crackdown on civil liberties by Mr. Ahmadinejad.
Jon Stewart's Commentary:
http://www.comedycentral.com/sitewide/media_player/play.jhtml?itemId=79915
As far as I can see, it seems to me that all of Ahmadinejad's controversy was essentially to piss off the U.S. and Israel. During the Anderson Cooper interview, he spun around Anderson's questions so well that all anyone could have been thinking afterward was "wow", and something along the lines of, "he's a little crazy".
Now, I don't know too much about the situation, or about Iran. I do know that during the summer, the major controversy was that Ahmadinejad was claiming their nuclear ambitions and attempts had all been monitored by the appropriate international organization, whereas there was no proof of that. Add to that the "death-to-Israel" attitude of Mr. Ahmadinejad, and you have yourself a conflict between Super Power Number One and Mr. Iran.
As far as I can see, it seems to me that all of Ahmadinejad's controversy was essentially to piss off the U.S. and Israel. During the Anderson Cooper interview, he spun around Anderson's questions so well that all anyone could have been thinking afterward was "wow", and something along the lines of, "he's a little crazy".
Now, I don't know too much about the situation, or about Iran. I do know that during the summer, the major controversy was that Ahmadinejad was claiming their nuclear ambitions and attempts had all been monitored by the appropriate international organization, whereas there was no proof of that. Add to that the "death-to-Israel" attitude of Mr. Ahmadinejad, and you have yourself a conflict between Super Power Number One and Mr. Iran.
All I can say is, it doesn't seem so much that we, or any Western nation, are the only ones against the Iranian president. If his own country is voting against him, maybe he should take the hint. I have always said extremism isn't the answer. Live life in moderation.
Democracy Inaction
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