| Submit your comments on this article |
| Iran |
| Iran Votes in Municipal Elections |
| 2003-02-28 |
| Iranians went to the polls yesterday to elect new town and city councils in a test of popularity of reformists close to President Mohammad Khatami. With 210,000 candidates vying for seats on 905 cities and 34,205 villages after a low-key campaign, voters could boycott the ballot boxes in frustration at political infighting. Only 1,222 clerics are among the candidates, compared with some 6,500 women, as conservatives have kept a low profile, while hoping to capitalize on a poor turnout. I read a few days ago that the conservatives were actually hoping to pick up representation, due to voters' frustration with the reformers ever actually getting anything done. Despite massive victories in presidential, parliamentary and local elections since 1997, the reformists' attempts to push through political, social and economic changes have been systematically blocked by conservatives who still hold most of the levers of power. In Tehran, where the reformist-dominated city council collapsed as factional feuding prevented it from functioning, the splits are still evident in the three separate pro-reform lists running. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged people to vote but criticized "irregularities" in the screening of some candidates. "If the candidature of some people was approved against the law, their elections will be illegal," he said. Sounds like that means the turbans don't even have to run somebody against them. If they don't like them, they'll cancel the election... "Iranians are not disappointed," an upbeat President Khatami said as he headed to cast his vote in Tehran. "They are perhaps critical and believe many of their demands have not been met, but I think more than 50 percent will vote because people believe in their country and in the regime." He's pointing with pride... It's kind of disjointed here, because Iran News Daily strung two separate stories together to make one. This part's an AP story... For the first time in two decades, liberal dissidents were on the ballot for Iran's local elections on Friday thanks to a power shift in the committee that oversees elections in this conservative society. Nearly 225,000 candidates, including 6,000 women, were contesting the 185,000 village and city council seats. In past years, liberal dissidents were disqualified from running for office by hard-liners who controlled the parliamentary committee that supervises local elections. That's why they call it a dictatorship. It's a curious case, because it's a dictatorship that's actually trying to become a democracy... During a week of campaigning, candidates swamped cities and villages with millions of banners and posters inviting people to vote. The campaign slogans were as diverse as the candidates competing for the four-year positions. Reformers say hard-line groups failed to come up with a list of candidates because their support among the public is dwindling. "Hard-liners refused to run because they know they have no popular base and are doomed to fail. They can't tolerate more public humiliation at the polls," The Associated Press quoted Ebrahim Yazdi, leader of the banned Freedom Movement of Iran, as saying. The elections come amid public frustration over the pro-reformist government's inability to deliver political, economic and social reforms because of its ongoing power struggle with ruling hard-line clerics. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |
| #2 1ST Quttar,and Bahrain becoming more liberail now Iran! Whats wrong with these people? Don't they know despotic regimes are supposed to get worse? They are going to mess-up everything! Lets hope the Iranian reformists can gain control without a blood bath. |
| Posted by: raptor 2003-03-01 06:18:52 |
| #1 I predict a 99.9996% return for the mullahs, similar to the recent election for Saddam in Iraq. |
| Posted by: Scooter McGruder 2003-02-28 12:35:56 |