Questions?...
Are bloggers and moderates so out of touch with Iran that they could predict a strong showing for Moin? Or did the heat convince borderline boycotters/voters to stay home?
[See poll (http://freethoughts.org/polls/archives/000704.php)]
There are about twenty people around me now: all of whom are in shock: voters and non-voters alike. The news in Iran is that Ahmadi Nejad may be the top vote getter and that Moin will be fifth. All of the voters we know (which turned out to be many more than two days before the vote), save 1, voted for Moin. Even the 1 Rafsanjani voter who early on admitted to her intention to vote, voted for Moin.
7 comments:
Very funny. I am just coming from FreeThoughts where I left a comment on how they are out of touch with the Iranian society. So I don't want to repeat what I said there in here.
But this result proves perhaps two things at least:
a. yes, how drifted away bloggers and "pundits" are from the realities.
b. how boycotters are even more detached from realities. Your friend who canvassed for Moin (in an earlier post) had a simple and effective line of reasoning. Yet it was lost on many people who stayed away from voting and let other people determine the day for them.
itchy_thoughts
I just checked the news and yes it seems that Ahmadi Nejad is creeping into the second round.
Is it the re-enactment of the recent French presidential election or what? A super-hardliner (Le Pen) running against a corrupt politician (Chirac), because of voter apathy. In the second round, the French went to the polls in hordes and bit the bullet by voting for the corrupt guy to avoid a tragedy.
Are Iranians going to do the same?
itchy_thoughts
Sounds fishy to me, esp. in light of the NYT article on Karroubi's allegations of "rigging."
I wonder if rigging is just another word for organizing?
Itchy,
I cannot tell you how many times I have used my friend's reasons on American liberal friends and have had the exact same result! It's tragic. In America we have no liberal party anymore. If Reagen ran today, he would be a flaming liberal!
Wake up and smell the compromise...
Ironically the stakes are higher in the elections in a quasi-democracy of Iran than a democratic America.
Republicans and democrats being in the White House has indirect effect in the day to day life of ordinary people. Or at least the connection is not easily seen (e.g. you have to be savvy enough to know that your neighbour's job loss could have been averted by Washington being tougher on outsourcing.)
In Iran where government's policies are so penetrating that they affect people's outfit, voting is very crucial.
There is a saying where I live among the older generation that goes something like you can't complain if you haven't voted, so vote if you want to continue complaining.
itchy_thoughts
P.S. Have you hit upon Iran's well-oiled conspiracy theory mill?
Listen to this one. It is all a conspiracy to throw Rafsanjani and an ultra-conservative to the second round. Rafsanjani has been humiliated many times in the polls in the past. This way he hopes many people who crushed him in the polls to come crawling back this Friday. It will be his coronation when he picks up 95% of the votes.
Itchy, I have an unpublished post called the rumor mill. And I have heard the rumor you mention: ironically I have heard it from westerners, not Iranians. Iran's unofficial pastime is clearly the creation and spreading of rumors.
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