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Newspapers closed amid iran vote rigging accusations { June 21 2005 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/06/21/MNGKQDBS041.DTLhttp://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/06/21/MNGKQDBS041.DTL
Reformers line up behind Rafsanjani for Iran presidency
3 newspapers closed amid accusations of rigged voting
- Karl Vick, Washington Post
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Tehran -- The battle for Iran's presidency intensified Monday as reformers rallied around the candidacy of former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, accusations of vote-rigging grew and three newspapers that published a candidate's letter critical of the election were shut down.
The scramble to support Rafsanjani, 70, a cleric and power player who has made many enemies during a quarter-century in Iran's political establishment, reflected concerns about the possible ascendance of Tehran Mayor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, 49, the other candidate in Friday's runoff. Ahmadinejad is widely seen as the favorite of the clerical establishment because of his traditional views and the religious tenor of his campaign.
Three rival campaigns charged that Ahmadinejad's unexpectedly strong showing, announced at 19.5 percent of the vote, was orchestrated by Iran's military and volunteer militia force in concert with the Guardian Council, the body responsible for counting votes and controlled by hard-line clerics.
On Monday, Mahdi Karroubi, the moderate cleric who finished less than 1 percentage point behind Ahmadinejad, protested the election by resigning from the Expediency Council, which like the Guardian Council, is among the three appointed bodies with powers greater than those of Iran's elected government. He also quit his post as a formal adviser to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who as supreme leader holds ultimate authority in the theocracy.
"Had the Guardian Council had the authority, it would have ordered Ahmadinejad to be elected without even considering the votes," said Karroubi, who has often served as a liaison between reformers and hard-liners.
He blamed the Revolutionary Guard Corps and the basij, a volunteer militia supported by the government and often deployed against student protests, for interfering in the vote.
"My popular votes were increasing in spite of the fact that certain sections of the Revolutionary Guards and basij forces -- by paying money to religious centers and gathering places, and their unusual presence in polls --
were illegally publicizing another candidate," Karroubi wrote in an open letter to Khamenei. "I had told you about this before the election day and I am informed that same warning was given to you by the interior, intelligence and justice ministers."
The state's response came in two forms. The Guardian Council announced a quick recount of 100 random ballot boxes in four provinces. Within hours, it declared the election fair.
Meanwhile, the three newspapers that quoted Karroubi's letter Monday morning were closed, joining a list of more than 100 publications shuttered by hard-liners in Iran's judiciary.
About 70 former guard members serve in the parliament elected last year after the Guardian Council barred more than 800 reformist candidates from the ballot.
The council rejected more than 1,000 presidential hopefuls this year; four of the eight candidates it approved were veteran guard commanders. Ahmadinejad also served in the basij.
An official with Ahmadinejad's campaign said the candidate was being demonized "to scare people away from him."
Before Friday, many reformers were similarly critical of Rafsanjani, who finished with an announced tally of 21 percent of the vote. But this week supporters of outgoing President Mohammad Khatami rushed to answer Rafsanjani's call to "prevent all extremism."
Reformist parties including the Executives of Construction Party, the Islamic Revolution Mujaheddin Organization and the Islamic Iran Participation Front threw their support behind the "pragmatic conservative," as Rafsanjani has cast himself.
"The warning bell has sounded for our fledgling democracy," said a statement from reformist candidate Mostafa Moin, who finished fifth in the first round and joined Karroubi and Rafsanjani in complaining of fraud.
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