The World According to M.I.S.S. Unrest in Iran after Presidential Elections
It has been a week since the highly anticipated elections in Iran between incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the people’s candidate Mir Hossain Moussavi and there is still heavy unrest in the country from many of its inhabitants. Fires, bombings, arrests, and casualties have plagued Iran in the last couple of days. The massive outpouring is the result of a presidential election many believe was rigged.
Known by some as Iran’s version of President Bush, current Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is not only known for his distrust of the United States and Israel, but more so for his stubbornness towards international regulators in relation to Iran’s pursuit of nuclear technology. Words such as conservative, strong willed, and bullheaded have all been used to describe Ahmadinejad, but its believed his relentless persistence in obtaining nuclear technology have destroyed the country’s image, and dragged down it’s economy. An economy that is in a far worse state than it’s ever been.
Fires, bombings, arrests, and casualties plagued Iran—the result of a presidential election many believe was rigged.On the other hand, you’ve got candidate Mir Hossain Moussavai, a reformist, Iran’s former Prime Minister, a painter and an architect who has been away from Iran’s political forefront for about two decades now. Moussavai reemerged onto the political scene with promises of reforming the country changing Iran into a global communicator and pushing for freedom of speech. During the campaign he heavily relied on his wife, a college professor, to signify his support of equal rights for women.
Voters are accusing the President of using fraud to steal the election from candidate Moussavai.
These two candidates were at the forefront of a historical election no one had any idea which way it would bend. Once it was all said and done the flagged waved in Ahmadinejad favor making him once again the President of Iran. Total chaos ensued as once the announcement was made, in the nations capital Tehran opponents of President Ahmadinejad’s win by setting fires and pelting rocks at local law enforcers. Voters are accusing the President of using fraud to steal the election from candidate Moussavai.
“It is entirely possible that Ahmadinejad would have won anyway, but narrowly, perhaps with less than 50 percent of the vote, setting up a runoff election he might have lost as the other candidates united against him. It is possible that his government, perhaps acting in concert with supreme leader Ayatullah Ali Khamenei, decided to take no chances.”
As riots continue to mask the nation there is no word when the violence will end. With an uncertainty looming that votes will be recounted, the people of Iran have obviously taken the circumstance in their own hands.
