Ahmadinejad stays in power in Iran
A supporter of candidate Mirhossein Mousavi holds a piece of paper that reads “We write Mousavi, they read Ahmadinejad” during post-election unrest in Tehran. (Image: flickr user John McNab (cc:by-nd))
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Incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declares victory with an alleged 63 percent mandate.
Many had hoped that a Mir Hossein Mousavi would ease repression and create a better relationship with the outside world.
Afshin Molavi, Senior Fellow at the New America Foundation and the author of "Soul of Iran: A Nation’s Journey to Freedom," joins "The Takeaway" with a look at what comes next for Iran.
Molavi says there are many moving parts at this stage of the election: "There are significant demonstrations taking place in Iran … Mir-Hossein Mousavi … Ahmadinejad’s main opponent, has called for people to go out onto the streets to continue demonstrate peacefully … what we’ll probably see over the next few days is more of these kind of street scuffles …"
In addition to the public dispute, there is a much larger "interior" dispute, according to Molavi: "This is a real rift between Islamic Republic revolutionarly elite — an old-guard revolutionary elite versus a new-guard revolutionary elite … and the back room politicking that’s going on right now must be furious."
As for whether the disputes reflect the strength of Iran’s democracy, Molavi says: "I can tell you I’ve been on the streets of Tehran when these kinds of protests take place, and it’s a very intimidating environment. The security services are very skilled — there are official police, and then you have hard-line thugs who are loosely affiliated to the government who go out and crack heads. And I think, to some extent … these scenes are going to be very chaotic.
"Whether this is a strenght of Iran’s democracy … I think the strenght of any democracization of Iran will be if the institutions are able to respond to these widespread charges of voter irregularity."
"The Takeaway" is a national morning news program, delivering the news and analysis you need to catch up, start your day, and prepare for what’s ahead. The show is a co-production of WNYC and PRI, in editorial collaboration with the BBC, The New York Times Radio, and WGBH.