Iran Election June 09

[Merlin]

Iran's population is young, average age only 27. The opposition candidate Mousavi made use of social networking site Facebook to reach out to these young Iranian as well as reporters. This was promptly blocked, for some reason lifted, and blocked again.

Iran blocks Facebook ahead of presidential election

3 hr ago TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- The Iranian government has blocked access to the social networking site Facebook amid political jockeying for the June 12 presidential elections, according to the semi-official Iranian Labour News Agency.

Reformist candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi -- a former prime minister considered a threat to current hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad -- created a Facebook page for his campaign that has more than 5,000 supporters on the site.

Those attempting to visit Facebook received a message in Farsi saying, "Access to this site is not possible," according to CNN personnel in Tehran.

ILNA reported the Masadiq Committee, made up of representatives from Iran's intelligence ministry, judiciary and others had ordered the action.

After a few hours, the blockage was lifted, but was then reinstated, ILNA said. No reason was given for the block. ...

Ahmadinejad's challengers are increasingly turning to new technology to spread their message, according to a May 13 article in the Financial Times newspaper.

Iran's population -- estimated at more than 66 million by July 2009, according to the CIA World Factbook -- has a median age of 27. The Financial Times, which put the country's population at 70 million, said 47 million Iranians have cell phones and 21 million have Internet access.

"We are using new technologies because they have the capacity to be multiplied by people themselves who can forward Bluetooth, e-mails and text messages and invite more supporters on Facebook," Behzad Mortazavi, head of Mousavi's campaign committee, told the Financial Times.

At a Mousavi rally at a stadium Saturday, the Facebook blockage was a topic of conversation among reporters. ...

[Merlin]

They keep changing their mind.

Iranians regain access to Facebook, Twitter

4hrs ago TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- The online networking sites Facebook and Twitter were back in business for Iranians Tuesday, a day after the government banned the country's access to them, a freelance writer said.

The 28-year-old woman, who uses the name Shahrazad to protect her identity, said the sites were reactivated during the morning.

On Monday, CNN Correspondent Reza Sayah asked Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad about the shutdown of Facebook. He told the news conference he had not called for the ban but would look into it.

He added, "I believe in maximum freedom of expression."

After the briefing, access to Facebook was reinstated, but that ended a few hours later and the block remained in place until Tuesday morning. No reason was given for the block. ....

[Traxus]

...and lifted again.

Iran restores access to Facebook, days after blocking the site

TEHRAN, Iran — Access to the social networking website Facebook is back in Iran after being blocked late last week.

Facebook was cut off Saturday, leading to accusations that authorities were trying to muzzle one of the main campaign tools of reformists opposing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in June 12 elections.

The main pro-reform candidate, Mir Hossein Mousavi, is seeking a strong turnout from young voters and has used Facebook to try to mobilize support.

Authorities have not directly commented on the Facebook outage, and the reason for its return today was not immediately clear.

The Canadian Press: Iran restores access to Facebook, days after blocking the site

edit: You beat me by a minute!

[BenRoethig]

As a writer in Atimes pointed out, the lack of American interest in the Iranian election at White House level is quite surprising. They should use the opportunity to undermine Ahmadinejad's chances of re-election, or perhaps they don't want to publicize the fact that they do have a democratic election for their Presidency over there.

The reason why Ahmadinejad was elected in the first place is because the clerics banned all the reformers. They may have elections, but its still a theocracy.

[Merlin]

Here is a good comparison of the campaign positions of the four candidates.

So which one would you vote for if you were an Iranian?

FACTBOX: Issues in Iran's presidential election race

28 May TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranians vote on June 12 in a presidential election that will test the popularity of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad against rivals who criticize his combative stance on the nuclear issue and his handling of the economy.

Following are some of the campaign issues and positions of the four candidates cleared to run by the Guardian Council:

NUCLEAR
The candidates have promised no major change in Iran's nuclear policy, saying such matters of state are decided by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but they have signaled subtle differences in approach. Moderates, such as former Prime Minister Mirhossein Mousavi and former Parliament Speaker Mehdi Karoubi, have faulted Ahmadinejad for isolating Iran by denying the Holocaust and making fiery anti-Western speeches. However, no candidate has suggested that Iran could address the West's concerns over its nuclear program and halt sensitive work.

RELATIONS WITH THE UNITED STATES
As in the 2005 presidential election, all candidates have said they are open to the idea of resuming relations with the United States. This reflects how popular such a move would be among Iranians weary of a rift that has lasted almost three decades. But nearly all the candidates demand "fundamental" changes in U.S. policy toward Iran. These could include removing the Islamic Republic from the U.S. list of terrorism sponsors or unfreezing billions of dollars in Iranian assets seized in the United States after the 1979 Islamic revolution.

ECONOMY
Candidates have offered few detailed ideas on how to improve the economy in Iran, which has the world's second biggest oil and gas reserves. Critics say the government did not save enough when oil prices were high to maintain spending after they fell below $40 a barrel in February from a July peak of $147. Prices have since firmed to almost $60 a barrel. Many Iranians complain of inflation, which hit almost 30 percent last year but which dipped to 12.5 percent in April, and rising unemployment. ....

Ahmadinejad's spending policies have been criticised as inflationary and wasteful of windfall oil revenue earned by the world's fifth biggest crude exporter. He has promised to alleviate poverty and reduce dependence on oil income, which accounts for 80 percent of hard currency earnings. His power base rests on poorer segments of Iran's 70 million people.

HUMAN RIGHTS
All candidates have promised to uphold freedom of speech and improve women's participation in government and decision-making in Iran, often criticised abroad for its human rights record. Karoubi and Mousavi have opposed Ahmadinejad's drive to enforce what hardliners define as Islamic dress and social behavior.

[Merlin]

Even before the election date, there were attacks at mosque and campaign office.

Iranian Media: 19 Killed in Blast at Shi'ite Mosque in Iran

29 May [VOA] Iran's official news agency says a suicide attack killed 19 people and wounded 125 others at a Shi'ite mosque in Zahedan, the capital of Sistan-Baluchistan province near Iran's border with Pakistan.

Provincial governor Ali-Mohammed Azad told the IRNA news agency the bombing Thursday was a terrorist act, and that the government has already arrested the perpetrators.

Azad said the bombers had been planning additional attacks. He said the attacks were meant to destabilize the province as it prepares for June 12 presidential elections. ....

Ahmadinejad's campaign office shot at

TEHRAN, May 29 (UPI) -- Gunmen fired on a campaign office of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Friday, wounding two adults and a child, officials said. ...

Ahmadinejad, who is running for a second term, was not at the office. ....

[Merlin]

I think this is the first Iran election that they have such open televised debates between the Presidential candidates. This one below is part of a series, and probably the most interesting one.

Iran's president, rival, spar in debate

Leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad tangles with Mir-Hossein Mousavi, a former prime minister and one of his opponents in the presidential race. The hard-hitting encounter is part of a series of debates.

2 hrs ago [LATimes] Tehran -- Iran's president waved an apparent intelligence file on his challenger's wife in the air Wednesday night, accusing her of violating government rules in an explosive televised debate that laid bare the rifts within the country's establishment.

Mir-Hossein Mousavi, the aging former prime minister who is the leading contender against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the presidential election next week, kept his cool and struck back forcefully, defending his wife as a dedicated scholar and artist and accusing the incumbent of using the instruments of state to dig up dirt on his opponents.

"This is typical of your government," he told Ahmadinejad. "Instead of finding solutions, you send your deputies to make files on the people."

The long-anticipated 90-minute encounter, watched by more than 40 million people, was the second in a series of seven live one-on-one debates among the four presidential contenders.

The two candidates attacked each other unremittingly, touching on sensitive issues such as human rights, Iran's involvement in the Arab-Israeli conflict and its relations with the United States in a freewheeling format rare on state television.

Mousavi, struggling with his words during the beginning of the debate, hammered hard at Ahmadinejad's foreign policy, accusing him of needlessly alienating other countries. He mocked what he described as Ahmadinejad's erratic behavior during several crises and trips abroad and repeatedly criticized Ahmadinejad for questioning the existence of the Holocaust, which he said hurt Iran's national interests and unified the world behind Israel, Tehran's rival. ...

[Steezy]

You can only think that with Obama in power and Dinejad getting voted out that things would cool off considerably, although Israels' Netanyhu (sp) is a spanner in the works.

Not that I know how it's all going down there in Iran but I doubt that the new guy will win, seems like Mahmud has already consolidated quite alot of power

[Merlin]

This is a rare poll, and difficult to conduct. It was conducted last month, which means before Obama's Cairo speech.

Poll: Few Iranians see US favorably, despite Obama

8 hrs ago WASHINGTON (AP) — Few Iranians have favorable opinions of the United States, a view that has changed little since the election of an American president who has expressed a willingness to talk to Tehran, a rare poll of Iranian citizens showed Monday.

Even so, the survey shows Iranians continue to strongly want their country to adopt democratic institutions like free elections and a free press, the poll showed. There also remains a widespread willingness to stage unconditional negotiations with the U.S. following nearly three decades of diplomatic estrangement between the two countries.

Just 29 percent of Iranians said they have favorable views of the United States in the latest poll, which was conducted last month. In a similar survey in February 2008 — nearly a year before Barack Obama became president — 34 percent had positive opinions about the U.S.

In a further sign of wariness toward the United States, 38 percent in last month's poll said the U.S. is the greatest threat to Iran. Only Israel was ranked higher — 44 percent of Iranians said the Jewish state posed the greatest threat to their country.

Accurate public opinion polls are a rarity in Iran, whose Islamic rulers enforce strict rules of behavior and where dissidents are often imprisoned. The survey was conducted by telephone from a nearby country that the sponsors declined to identify for security reasons.

The poll was conducted for Terror Free Tomorrow, a bipartisan group that tries to undermine support for terrorism, and for the New America Foundation, a nonpartisan public policy institute. Both are based in Washington. ....

[Merlin]

The candidates are holding their final rallies before campaign has to stop a day before the poll on Friday.

Iran's Ahmadinejad, Mousavi Hold Final Rallies Ahead of Election

10 June [VOA] Tensions are high among Iran's presidential candidates on the last day of campaigning ahead of Friday's elections.

Incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his chief election rival Mir Hossein Mousavi have repeatedly accused each other of lying to the public in a bitterly contested campaign that has highlighted Iran's deep political divisions.

Mr. Ahmadinejad used a rally in Tehran Wednesday to accuse his rivals of adopting smear tactics used by Nazi Germany's leader Adolf Hitler. He said his challengers are lying by describing the economy as weak and compared their methods to those of Hitler.

Leading reformist presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi has criticized Mr. Ahmadinejad for describing the Nazi German Holocaust as a myth, saying such remarks isolate Iran. ...

Campaigning for Iran's election is due to end Thursday morning, 24 hours before polls open. ...

[Traxus]

'Effective action'

The last day of campaigning was also coloured by an intervention by Mr Rafsanjani, who was Mr Ahmadinejad's main opponent in the 2005 elections, and was himself president from 1989 to 1997 and currently heads the Expediency Council - Iran's main political arbitration body.

In an open letter to the supreme leader published by several newspapers, he said Mr Ahmadinejad's statements threatened to undermine the Islamic revolution.

He had personally told the president to take back his remarks, which he described as "irresponsible and untruthful", he said. He asked Ayatollah Khamenei to resolve the dispute.

"I ask your eminence, given your position, responsibility and personality, to solve this problem and act in a way you deem right to take effective action in eliminating the mutiny," the former president said, quoted by AFP news agency.

Fourteen high-ranking clerics echoed the complaint.

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Iran's Ahmadinejad lambasts opponents

This is a pretty big deal, 14 clerics and a former president calling out Ahmadenijad. I wonder if Khamenei will actually get involved before the election.

Things are getting pretty intense. I've seen and heard coverage in a lot of places that would not normally be dealing with Iranian politics. This is a pretty heated election; good for Iran.

[Merlin]

... I wonder if Khamenei will actually get involved before the election. ....

I don't think so. Being the Supreme Leader, he comes in only when things get out of hand, or are clearly going in the wrong direction.

[Merlin]

This is a good set of Q&A from Reuters on the Iran President and Supreme Leader.

Q&A: How powerful is the Iranian president?

11 June (Reuters) - Whoever wins Iran's presidential election on Friday will enjoy only limited power in the Islamic Republic's complex system of clerical rule and popular voting.

HOW DOES THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC WORK?
In a referendum after the 1979 Islamic revolution, Iranians overwhelmingly approved the creation of an Islamic Republic to replace the U.S.-supported monarchy. Later that year they backed a new constitution for a hybrid political system combining elements of democracy with unelected religious leadership. ...

HOW POWERFUL IS THE PRESIDENT?
In theory, the president's powers are second only to those of the Supreme Leader, a post occupied by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei since 1989. In practice, his freedom of action is also curtailed by a range of unelected bodies mostly controlled by hardline clerics. ....

WHAT DOES THE PRESIDENT DO?
He is responsible for economic policy and, along with his cabinet of ministers, daily management of national affairs. The president chairs the Supreme National Security Council, which coordinates defense and security policy. ...

WHAT DOES THE SUPREME LEADER DO?
The Supreme Leader, appointed by an assembly of senior clerics elected by popular vote, has the final say in vital matters such as nuclear policy and foreign relations, especially any decision to repair ties with the United States. ...

[Traxus]

After the clerics speak out, the Revolutionary Guard bites back:

Al Jazeera English - Middle East - Iran Guard warns reformist groups

The political chief of Iran's Revolutionary Guard has warned reformists in the country against seeking what he called a "velvet revolution", vowing that it would be "nipped in the bud".

Yadollah Javani's comments appeared aimed at Mir Hossein Mousavi, a reformist candidate in the country's presidential elections and followed another day of bitter exchanges between Mousavi and his rival and current president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The Revolutionary Guard is one of the pillars of the Iranian establishment and controls large military forces as well as a nationwide network of militia.

In a statement on its website, Javani drew parallels between Mousavi's campaign and the "velvet revolution'' that led to the 1989 overthrow of the communist government in then Czechoslovakia.

"There are many indications that some extremist [reformist] groups, have designed a colourful revolution ... using a specific colour for the first time in an election," the statement said.

This is getting interesting indeed. It seems as though the Guard is getting nervous, they're feeling people and politicians turning against their power. That representatives of the Revolutionary Guard and ruling Clerics are taking potshots at each other I think demonstrates that even these powerful entities don't really know how the election is going to go.

12 hours until morning of the election day. This is going to be super interesting. I really wonder how the results will be taken. If Ahmadenijad wins, will the legions of young, excited reformists believe the polls were fair? What if they didn't? If Mousavi wins, will the Revolutionary Guard resort to more open action? This election is doing a great job of demonstrating where power really lies in Iran.

[BenRoethig]

I smell a potential powder keg here.