Voting has closed in Iran's controversial legislative election with conservatives set for a sweeping victory following a boycott by reformists.
What is revealed from the mountain of paper ballots - possibly on Saturday - may determine the credibility of the reform movement and its drive to make the all-powerful theocracy more accountable to elected officials and the public. Reformers - outraged by the banning of more than 2400 candidates - hoped for a widespread snub of the voting to take a needed moral victory and humble the leadership just a week after the 25th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. Aljazeera's correspondent in Tehran reported broad participation in the south of Iran which is loyal to the conservatives. "Many participants in a number of rural areas attended the voting centres. In Khuzestan and Shiraz, Arabs are strongly participating while participation in other areas like Blushstan and Kurdistan is medium or weak. Analysts are optimistic that turnout may reach 50%," he said. "It is expected that the preliminary results might be announced on Saturday while the final results will be announced some days later", he added.
| And guess which side gets to publish the results? |
Blocked from the mainstream media to reach voters, liberals turned to technology. They fired off pro-boycott e-mails and mobile phone messages to millions of people. "Don't take part in the funeral of freedom," said one text message. But the conservative establishment fought back hard. It pulled out all the stops - led by non stop appeals and programmes on state television and radio - and claimed a big turnout buried the boycott effort. A significant turnout would give the clerics' little reason to make democratic concessions. "You see how those who are against the Iranian nation and the revolution are trying so hard to prevent people from going to the polls," said Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the regime's highest religious and political authority. |