Conservatives Win in Iranian Election

international | miscellaneous | news report

Sunday March 23, 2008 12:52

by Bazooka Joe

Bankruptcy of Western Policy against Iran

Legislative election results emerging from Iran today show the consolidation of conservative power and the Revolutionary Guard base of President Ahmadinejad. This is an outright failure for the international sanctions and the associated propaganda drive carried out on the insistence of the US through the UN and a myriad trolls.

Ahmadinejad declares victory

With 70% of the seats decided, Religious conservatives are set to hold power after about 90 remaining undecided seats are allocated. The Revolutionary Guard has been greatly strengthened with at least 120 of the 290 members of parliament being former guardsmen like President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Reformists only won 40 seats. They expected to do well in Tehran, but as yet have not managed to win a single seat there.

This is a blow to those calling for sanctions and those who have used propaganda as a means of softening the world to both the sanctions and the attack on Iran.

Some of the elected conservatives criticised Ahmadinejad's management of the economy which has produced an inflation rate of around 18% but they all support the president's position on the nuclear programme.

"Pressure will not work," said Seyed Safavi, who stood and lost in Tehran for the reformist relatively liberal National Trust party. "Is there any pressure more than war? And we lived through war with Iraq."

At this time a third wave of UN security council sanctions have been imposed on Iran, and the US recently imposed sanctions on a Bahraini bank partly owned by Iranian state-run financial institutions.

President Ahmadinejad must stand for re-election next year. He is still believed to enjoy great support amongst the urban poor, especially outside the capital, and is expected to romp home.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east...1.ece