Iran Election Fraud: 5 Reasons to Doubt the Results
2009-06-14 · list · John · 3:56 · watch on YouTube
Topic: World affairs · mode: News analysis · tags: timely hook, civic or action cta
John gives five reasons (Tabriz, the 2005 runoff, record turnout, superhuman counting, a reported early concession call) to think Iran's 2009 presidential election was stolen for Ahmadinejad, while allowing that the full story is unknown.
What is said
The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).
00:00:00 — Greeting; announces five reasons to think Iran's election was fraudulent
- ★★★ John sets out to give five reasons why he thinks Iran's presidential election was fraudulent. (hedged) — 00:00:01
00:00:05 — 'An election of our own': Nerdfighters vote on John's beard
- ★★ John asks Nerdfighters to vote in comments on whether he should keep or shave his beard; unlike Iran, he says, he will adhere to the results. (playful) — 00:00:05 · Nerdfighteria
00:00:23 — Background: Iran as an Islamic Republic; moderates barred from running
- ★★ John explains that Iran is an Islamic Republic whose president matters less because its domestic and foreign affairs are decided by a council of religious leaders led by the Ayatollah. — 00:00:23
- ★★ John says moderates who try to run for president are routinely barred (comically 'like 37,000'), which has often led to low turnout. (playful, hedged) — 00:00:41
- a number in question (doubtful): "like 37,000" — check against the recording
00:00:53 — The 2009 election: Ahmadinejad, Mousavi, 85% turnout, 63% announced; John says it was stolen
- ★ John calls the incumbent president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, 'a bit of a douche-nozzle'. (playful) — 00:00:57
- ★★ John says two quasi-reformist candidates were allowed to run, including former prime minister Mir-Hossein Mousavi. — 00:01:08
- ★★ John says a 'stunning' 85% of eligible voters voted. — 00:01:14
- ★★★ John says a couple of hours after polls closed the interior ministry announced Ahmadinejad was winning with 63% of the vote, which he calls nearly impossible. — 00:01:20
-
★★★ John maintains that Ahmadinejad, and possibly Supreme Leader Ayatollah (Khamenei), stole the election. (hedged) — 00:01:29
“I maintain that Ahmadinejad, and possibly supreme leader Ayatollah Khomeini, stole the election.”
-
★★ John says he is not calling the election invalid because a disliked candidate won, but because many things don't add up. — 00:01:39
00:01:48 — Five reasons: Tabriz, 2005, turnout, superhuman counting, the possible acknowledgement
- ★★★ Reason one: Tabriz, Mousavi's home city, historically votes for him or his ethnic group's candidate, yet apparently voted 2 to 1 for Ahmadinejad - like John McCain winning Chicago. (hedged) — 00:01:48 · Chicago (city)
- ★★ Reason two: in the 2005 election, despite low turnout and when he was more popular, Ahmadinejad could not avoid a runoff. — 00:02:07
- ★★★ Reason three: turnout was ridiculously high by Iranian standards; in the last twenty years high turnout always meant a reformist won, and polls said Ahmadinejad needed very low turnout. — 00:02:25
- ★★★ Reason four: the interior ministry announced results within about two hours, counting about ten million more ballots thirty times faster than ever before. (hedged) — 00:02:44
- ★★ John says the Iranian government is starting to expel foreign journalists and shut down websites, making reliable information hard to get. — 00:03:03
- ★★★ Reason five, 'the possible acknowledgment': people inside Mousavi's campaign report the interior ministry told Mousavi he had won shortly before announcing on TV that he had lost. (hedged) — 00:03:14
00:03:28 — Uncertainty, hope the government honors the people; Quran; young Iranians on Twitter
- ★★ John says the whole story is not yet known and it is possible the elections were somehow not rigged. (unsure) — 00:03:28
- ★★ John hopes Iran's government has the decency to honor the will of its people, citing the Quran: God does not guide those who transgress and lie. — 00:03:32
- ★★ John links to the Twitter feeds of young Iranians tweeting through the crisis, saying they show 140 characters can say something interesting, e.g. 'If Iran sleeps tonight, it will sleep forever.' — 00:03:41 · Twitter, link in the sidebar
In the description and comments
- ★★ John says he is still getting good updates from the Twitter accounts persiankiwi and tehranbureau, and recommends also following y shar and iran09. — video description · Twitter
- ★★ John adds that Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, has declared the vote legitimate. — video description
- ★★ John reports that the Twitter link has been shut down, and that Gchat and Yahoo chat have also been shut down in Iran. — video description · Twitter
- ★★★ John reports that dozens of moderate clerics and reformist political leaders in Tehran and across Iran have been arrested; Mousavi is apparently not under house arrest but is 'being closely monitored by police', which John says sure seems like house arrest. (hedged) — video description
- ★★ John adds that there seems to be significant violence at universities around Iran, with hundreds of arrests and reports of tear gas in the dorms. (hedged) — video description
Threads in this video
- asked · John asks Nerdfighters to vote on keeping or shaving his beard (2009) — John asks Nerdfighters to vote in comments on whether to keep or shave his beard, promising (unlike Iran) to adhere to the results. (00:00:05)
- promised · John: adhere to the result of the Nerdfighter beard vote (2009) — Unlike Iran, John says, he will at least adhere to the results of the Nerdfighter beard vote. (00:00:15)
- first on record · Can election results be trusted? — John holds that Iran's 2009 presidential election was stolen by Ahmadinejad and possibly the Supreme Leader, citing five reasons, while allowing it may not have been rigged. (00:01:29)
Where the stories that moved here went next
- John asks Nerdfighters to vote on keeping or shaving his beard (2009) — reported back; last: closed, 2009-06-17 (said on 2009-06-16, implied)
- John: adhere to the result of the Nerdfighter beard vote (2009) — changed
Mentioned
Central: 2009 Iranian presidential election · electoral fraud · Iran · Mahmoud Ahmadinejad · Mir-Hossein Mousavi
Also: People: Ali Khamenei · John McCain
Works: Quran
Organizations: Ministry of Interior (Iran) · Twitter
Terms: link in the sidebar
Concepts: voter turnout
Places: Chicago (city) · Tabriz
Events: 2005 Iranian presidential election
Only in the description or credits: Google Talk · Tehran · Yahoo!
Also centred on electoral fraud: Will the U.S. Presidential Election Be Rigged? · The Rigged Election
Also centred on Iran: On Iran, Islam, and Amazingly Stupid Comments
Also centred on Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: On Iran, Islam, and Amazingly Stupid Comments
Later videos replying to this one
- 2009-06-17 · Half a Beard (John) — continues (result on John asks Nerdfighters to vote on keeping or shaving his beard (2009); changed on John: adhere to the result of the Nerdfighter beard vote (2009)) — John reports almost 5,000 votes on his beard, preliminarily to keep it, and shaves half as a compromise. (00:00:00)
- 2009-07-12 · On Iran, Islam, and Amazingly Stupid Comments (John) — continues (restate on Can election results be trusted?) — John again calls Iran's 2009 presidential election rigged. (00:00:29)