By ATUL ANEJA recently in Teheran
Iran: Official results showing Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s victory in the presidential election lead to unrest in the country.
AMIR KHOLOUSI, ISNA/AP
Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader, with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Teheran on Augut 30, 2005. Even when the counting was still in progress, he welcomed Ahmadinejad as the country’s President for a second successive term.
IT is easy to lose perspective on Iran, which is facing a student-led revolt of unprecedented intensity. For days there has been an outpouring of youthful energy, with thousands of people staging demonstrations and rallies in protest against a presidential vote they think was stolen.
Unrest rocked the streets of Teheran on June 13, soon after official results showed that the incumbent President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, had won the previous day’s election hands down, defeating his nearest rival Mir-Hosain Mousavi by nearly double the votes. The margin of victory was astounding.
With Mousavi’s campaign on a roll since the beginning of June, especially after heated television debates energised it, a close contest was expected. A run-off between the top two candidates – Ahmadinejad and Mousavi – was the most likely scenario. It was estimated that neither of the two would manage to muster 50 per cent of the votes that was necessary to emerge winner.
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