Who Won in Iran?

It was Florida 2000 all over, in Iran. Initially, both Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Mir Hossein Mousavi claimed to have won Iran’s presidential election with an estimated 70 percent of the electorate having turned out to vote. Now, though, it appears Ahmadinejad is the winner. With 24.1 million votes counted, the incumbent has claimed over 60 percent of the vote. “The result as it stands seems incredible,” said a professor for Iranian Studies at St. Andrews University in Scotland. “It’s difficult to see Karrubi and Rezaei getting such a small vote.” According to The Times of London, “It is widely believed that the 2005 election was marred by fraud and experts estimate that up to four million votes could be rigged this year. However, with the turnout so high, even that may not be enough.”