Iran.....The Election is Over......Deal with it.

      The election is over in Iran ,, but the result is disputed by the Moussavi and his distraught supporters. This was an election that pitted the younger middle and upper class voters in the capital Teheran against the rural poorer class who strongly identify with Ahmadinejad, who had done much to improve their conditions in his first term. Mir Hussein Moussavi, a prime minister in the 80's and the chisf challenger, had been out of the political spotlight for the past twenty years, and it was only after the Guardian Council approved the four candidates for the presidency, that the focus and the campaign for his election began. In the meantime, Ahmadinejad, not only was president for the past four years, but he had built a reputation as the defender of the Islamic Republic. His criticism of the United States (under Bush) and of Israel had won him a great following, and the pursuit of Iran's nuclear programme amidst the condemnation of the Western world had struck a nationalistic chord amongst the people. Ahmadinejad, also travelled all over the country, promising further economic support for the poor and vowing not to give up on Iran's nuclear programme, a source of great pride for Iranians. A poll conducted by the non-profit organisation, Terror Free Tomorrow:The Centre for Public Opinion and the American Strategy Program at the New America Foundation, from May11 to 20, showed Ahmadinejad with a 2 to 1 lead. This is more than the announced result. In this poll Ahmadinejad was well ahead all of Iran's 30 provinces.

        Pre-election coverage by western media, especially CNN and the BBC, focused on the capital Teheran and the large crowd of Moussavi's supporters. They neglected to cover the provinces where Ahmadinejad was very popular. This gave a skewed view of the election and created the expectation of an upset. When this did not materialise, it was easy to shout "fraud', and because Ahmadinejad had been demonised in the western media coverage, it was easy to accept, too easy. It is true that the young and educated want more freedoms...to go on the inter-net, twitter, you-tube etc.They want to be free to dress and party etc. without the restrictions of the religious police. They are fooling themselves in thinking that a victory by Moussavi will get them these things. Who-ever is president is a puppet of the Guardian Council. He dares not go against the wishes or tyhe dictates of the Ayotallah Ali Khamenei, whose powers is unquestionable. 

      There is no doubt that Ahmadinejad won the election, and the result has been deemed as a "divine assessment", by the Ayotallah. That is it!

      The response from the American administration is muted. This is good. You do not want to further alienate the Ayotallah. You have to talk with his mouth-piece,Ahmadinejad. So let the talks proceed, on the nuclear programme and also on matters of Afghanistan and the drug trade pouring across the Iranian border with which the Iranians want American help; on the Palestinian issue and on Hizbollah and Hamas and on so many other issues that are important to both countries.