Iranian Election Sparks Protests

Alleged Election Fraud in Iran Causes Outrage

On June 12, 2009, presidential elections were held in Iran. The two major candidates were current president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Mir-Hossein Mousavi.

Irregularities during the election campaign, as well as the purported percentage of votes Mousavi received (33%), caused many Iranians to protest over alleged fraud in the election.

Mousavi, a reformist who is supported by the U.S. and other western countries, has given many Iranians a sense of hope that change can come to Iran. With many people disappointed and dissatisfied with the policies of Ahmadinejad, there was hope Mousavi could remove Iran from its political and economic isolation.

After hearing of the results, Mousavi called the elections an "astonishing charade," and demanded new elections be held.

Election Results Spark Riots in Iran

Riots and protests broke out almost immediately after the results were announced, with hundreds of thousands of protesters marching in Tehran. Government militiamen, allegedly from the Revolutionary Guard, began firing at the protesters from the rooftops, killing several people. In addition, the government responded to the protest by calling for its own supporters to march. Thousands of Ahmadinejad supporters marched in the capital, holding Iranian flags and calling on all Iranians to accept the results.

Despite the fact that many Iranians support the 1979 Iranian revolution, many have become dismayed with Ahmadinejad's economic and political policies. Although Iran's clergy-guided system claims it does not feel the protests are a major threat, the ruling clergies are paying close attention to the events happening on the streets of Tehran.

Social Networking Sites Main Source of Information after Media Ban

The Iranian government has come under much criticism in its attempt to ban journalists and the media from covering the protests. According to Reporters Without Borders, up to 10 Iranian journalists have been arrested for trying to cover the protests.

"Clearly, when our journalists can't go out and see things and talk to people, our ability to tell the story is not as good as when we are able to go out to report and take pictures and video," AP executive editor Kathleen Carroll said on Yahoo! News. Yet despite the ban, images and information about the protests and the elections have leaked out, mainly from social networking sites like Twitter and Flickr.

Mousavi has refused to accept the election results, and has called upon his young and middle class supporters to continue to protest, using civil disobedience as a weapon to force new elections.