The Latest from Iran (1 March): The Issue Is Legitimacy

A worker sweeps up campaign flyers, 25 February0720 GMT: Tomorrow brings the first round in the Parliamentary elections. We offer a snap analysis, "Who is 'Winning' These Elections?": "We do not know. And we will not know for some time to come. But we do know that if a high turnout in the vote does not materialise, then all will suffer a blow to legitimacy."

Ivan Watson of CNN, in Tehran, testifies to that assessment, in what he does and does not say in this article:

Iranian state television broadcast wall-to-wall programming encouraging voters to cast their ballots.

With slogans like "Our progress in science and economics depends on your vote," the publicity campaign included an oft-repeated quote from the late founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomenei, saying, "The measure of a nation is its vote."

But out on the traffic-clogged streets of Tehran, some Iranians appeared less than enthusiastic about the election.

At the Al Javad Mosque where young men were handing out campaign leaflets, an elderly man confronted a passing turbaned cleric, yelling "Why should we vote?"

When a CNN reporter asked another man about the election, he hurried away, saying "I'm not going to vote, so I'm afraid to talk."

"I don't want to take part in this election," said another young man, who asked not to be named. Asked why he was boycotting the vote, he answered, "Everyone has his own viewpoint. For example, someone says 'I like the system.' Or someone says 'I don't. I'm the opposite of the system.' And that's why."

What Watson did not write on CNN's website, but what he offered on Twitter, was that after 15 minutes interviews, he and his crew were seized by Basij militiamen and held for three hours.

After his release, Watson conducted safer interviews with politicians. Alireza Marandi of the Unity Front spoke of the "spirituality & justice" of the election while Ahmadinejad ally Zohreh Elahian assured, "All principlists are members of one family."

from EA WorldView: EA Iran

Posted via email from lissping