Elections in Iran

How do you manually count up to 40 million votes, and come up with results after 12 hours? This is the question many are asking with regards to the just concluded elections in Iran, where incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad supposedly won by a landslide. Now, his main rival, a known reformist, has called for a recount, claiming the elections were fraudulent and rigged.

Sounds familiar doesn’t it? The difference here is that seven people have been killed in the protests that followed the announcing of Ahmadinejad’s victory. Democracy in this country isn’t exactly 100%, where the supreme spiritual leader, the Ayatollah, still has much to say with regards to affairs of government. And his endorsement of Ahmadinejad practically seals his re-election.

I happened to watch a show in National Geographic – “Don’t tell my mother” - where a traveler in Iran showed a very different side to this ancient Islamic country. From places where they perform rap concerts, to alcohol smuggling, and the biggest surprise to me, practicing Jews, complete with synagogues, in Iran! But they still criticize Israel and its policies.

I guess some things don’t change. There is no doubt that the country is trying to open up to the world, especially from the youth sector, but is stifled by its Islamic heritage and hard-line religious laws. And the immense turnout of the street protests only verify this fact. Immense enough for Iran to ban foreign coverage of the rallies. And yet, it is highly unlikely that these protests would result in overturning the result, which has the blessings of the Ayatollah.

A country that is torn between modern times and ancient traditions will always be in a state of flux, with one side trying to come out while one suppresses it. Iran is such a country.

With this latest election, we see that the reformists have grown in number, something unheard of after the fall of the Shah. But like the saying goes, the only thing constant is change. And change is probably what a majority of Iranians finally want.

The leadership would do well to listen to what this growing group has to say. We may yet see another Iranian revolution, only this time, it is the reformists that call for change, at least to get rid of that “axis of terror” image that the US has cultivated since the embassy hostage crisis of 1979.