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Western analysts missed the “silent majority” in Iran

TEHRAN: Confined mainly to Tehran and unacquainted with the mainstream local culture, the western media may have misread the public mood as Iran went for presidential polls on Friday.

Supporters of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who won a landslide victory after results were declared on Saturday, point out that a “silent majority” which resides in poor areas across the length and breadth of the country, socialises in mosques, and is relatively unacquainted with cyberspace voted solidly for Mr. Ahmadinejad.

Observers say while tens of thousands of Mr. Mousavi’s supporters had on June 8 formed a huge human chain, so dense was the crowd at Mr. Ahmadinejad rally held on the same day, that the President could not reach the hall for his address. An endless crowd of women in veils, young people and bearded men, steeped in tradition kept pouring in to listen to the President. This correspondent had also witnessed on the day of polling in the city of Karaj, outside Tehran, that Mr. Ahmadinejad’s supporters had shown up in strength at polling stations.

Unlike Mr. Ahmadinejad’s backers, Mr. Mousavi’s campaigners were relatively affluent, Internet savvy and experts in conducting a high-profile campaign, especially in Tehran. Use of SMS text messaging was so extensive in the capital, that it became the backbone of Mr. Mousavi’s communication network.

While the electronic space was overwhelmed by his supporters, a few in Mr. Ahmadinejad’s camp have made telling observations on the Internet about the politics of the green colour code used by Mr. Mousavi’s campaigners.

A supporter of the President reminds readers of Western-inspired “colour revolutions” that were mounted in the past to turn former Soviet states into pro-west allies.

The writer stresses that only a few days prior to the elections, Mr. Mousavi’s camp went green, began using the human chain technique more extensively, and simulated street presence of days in 1978, which preceded 1979 Islamic revolution. Not surprisingly, a senior member of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned that he would not allow protestations by Mr. Mousavi’s green “movement” to succeed.

Mr. Ahmadinejad’s critics are, nevertheless, seeking answers to their allegations about the President’s success in winning more than 60 per cent of the vote in the north-western city of Tabriz, which is part of Mr. Mousavi’s hometown province. Questions are also being raised about the first official declaration of Mr. Ahmadinejad’s victory, when only a 20 per cent vote count had been completed.

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