The Political Whore

By Ben Luongo
PoHo contributor

Experts and analysts were prepared for a close election between Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and challenger Mir-Hossein Mousavi. That didn’t happen; Ahmadinejad won by a landslide, 2 to 1.

Civil unrest has ensued. On Saturday, disappointed and suspicious demonstrators took to the streets. Those protests, supporters of Mousavi, were countered the next day with pro-Ahmadinejad rallies. Divide is growing and Khamenei is now calling for an investigation hoping to quell the unrest.

Here’s the video from that violence:

Again, the count says that Ahmadinejad received more votes, but many are suspicious; not only is the count itself not credible but neither is the speed at which the results came in. Beyond that, even if the results were valid the only thing Ahmadinejad has won is a destabilizing situation.

Mousavi didn’t win the election, but he was able to mobilize a large about of voters who had hopes of reform when it came to Iran’s economy and foreign relations. What his supporters have been able to do is pressure Khamenei to call for an investigation. However, if Mousavi supporters are questioning the transparency of the election, what are they to think of the validity of an investigation into the matter.

Many are now talking about the possibility of a revolution in Iran, though revolutions are incredibly hard to predict. If anything, such civil unrest undermines Iran’s elite. Mousavi was able to mobilize women and young voters, voters who don’s share much in common with Iran’s clerics. Such unrest from Iran’s progressives, televised all over the world, may pressure the regime to normalize foreign relations.

It’s unclear as to what happens next but one thing is for sure, the world is eager to watch how this plays out.

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