Iran poll will end in riots if Ahmadinejad cheats, says Mousavi camp

Iran will hold a landmark presidential election today amid warnings of violence if the vote is rigged to secure President Ahmadinejad’s return.

As the most tumultuous campaign in the Islamic Republic’s 30-year history drew to a close, Mir Hossein Mousavi, the incumbent’s strongest challenger, appealed to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Iranian Supreme Leader, to ensure that the election was fair.

Those close to Mr Mousavi went further, claiming that Mr Ahmadinejad could win only by cheating — and that this could spark riots and chaos on the streets.

Saeed Laylaz, a political consultant, said he feared a “Tiananmen Square-style experience”, with the military moving in to crush any protests.

Timesonline

Almost sounds like elections in US!!!!!!!!!!

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's interior ministry said President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad moved into a strong lead Friday with nearly 70 percent of the votes tallied so far, but his pro-reform rival countered that he has clearly won and warned of possible vote fraud. The dispute rose up even before polls closed early Saturday, heightening tensions across the capital where emotions have been running at a fever pitch. Mir Hossein Mousavi, the reformist candidate, suggested he might challenge the results. The messy and tense outcome capped a long day of voting — extended for six hours to accommodate a huge turnout. It raised worries that Iran's Islamic establishment could use its vast powers to pressure backers of Mousavi

Goole showing APnews

MOre and more like the Bush election...

Dr Ahmadinejad has taken a strong lead in his bid to be re-elected as Iran's president, chalking up 67 per cent of the vote with nearly half the ballot boxes counted, said Kamran Daneshjoo, chairman of the electoral commission at the interior ministry.

But reformist former prime minister Mir Hossein Mousavi has already claimed a landslide win despite conflicting reports.

"In line with the information we have received, I am the winner of this election by a substantial margin," Mr Mousavi told a news conference.

With 47 per cent of total boxes counted, amounting to over 15.2 million votes, Dr Ahmadinejad received over 10.2 million votes, or 67 per cent of the total.

That compared with 4.6 million, or 30.3 per cent for Mr Mousavi, the electoral commission said.

Early results point towards Ahmadinejad with a strong lead.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian police broke up a crowd of several hundred supporters of moderate presidential candidate Mirhossein Mousavi in a Tehran square early on Saturday, a Reuters witness said.

The incident took place after the election commission said President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had a strong lead over Mousavi in early counting of votes from Friday's presidential election. Mousavi earlier said he had won the election.

Reuters

Violence already.....

Seems to me no matter who wins there will be rioting.

I say the incumbent wins and a bunch of people go to jail and get beat down. I mean what do the people in Iran think, they have a "supreme leader" above who ever gets to be the "figure head". I guess it's just to make the people of Iran feel like they are actually doing something.

I don't believe for a second that the the figure head actually makes any decisions. Oh well such is life, if Carter would have backed the Shaw(sp?) we would be dealing with a very different situation right now.

Who knows, maybe I'm wrong.

reply to post by Hastobemoretolife


ya your right

their election is just as much a fraud and sham as any you will find in the West

and you are also right about the Ayatollah, he is like the King sorta, he calls the shots

It is hard to judge this because we are likely to get little evidence available to us - the most interesting and valid evidence would be interviewing say 100 Iranians and letting them tell their story.

I wonder if the new comer is backed by the Bilderbums or not. I would say that they are free of the controllers at the moment, so we should not be concerned if the leadership doesn't change.

The talk of violence, rioting and fraud sounds exactly like the kind of position Bilderbums would try to present to get their man into the office - so I'm happy that Iran continues with their current leaders.

Once Iran and NK succumb to the Bilderbums - that won't be good for the rest of us. I hope those two countries can keep up the good work and resist them - I think their strength has been influencing other countries as well. The more that resist the controllers the better chance we all have of escaping from their slavery.