Iran turns out in force for presidential poll

The election isn't even over yet and President Bush is already criticizing the election as illegitimate, saying it was designed to keep power in the hands of a few. He isn't alone. The Wall Street Journal reports that, Ayatollah Medhi Haeri is claiming that participation in the election is "haram.", He added that todays election in Iran is unclean according to religious principles and reasonable logic. He then suggested that it is forbidden by religious principles to participate.

"Whoever would participate in this process would be a full partner in the destruction of Iran by the current regime, a partner in its criminal behavior in the past, in the present and in the future. I am speaking not only on behalf of myself, but on behalf of the thousands of Muslim clerics who are imprisoned for defying the assertion that the state and religion should be under the control of a single Supreme Leader.

What I am saying is exactly what many other ayatollahs and grand ayatollahs are saying."

However, though Kenneth Timmerman is predicting a 27% percent turnout, actual Iranians think it will be higher. Some are counting on it as they believe a high turnout rate will work in favor of the reformists.

I'll go along with that. I think the Sunni's in Iraq did a dumb thing by boycotting the elections there in January. You can't just stick your fingers in your ears and say "la la la I'm not playing la la la" and then expect that to help your cause. Even in a sham election, you have to participate if for no other reason then when it's all over you can look in to the cameras and say, "See, there is no democracy here! Revolution!" or something like that. Boycotting only gives your opposition a stronger grip on th reigns of power.

Not that I have a say in what happens there but from what I've been reading either Mostafa Moein or Akbar Hashemi Bahramani, also known as Hashemi Rafsanjani would be fine picks. Both are reformist candidates and the former seems to be a favorite among the younger Iranian voters.

We shall see how this all turns out. In the meantime, read more.