Manipulations and rigging of election results are fast becoming a global phenomenon and believe you me the world is paying dearly for it with human blood. We saw it happened repeatedly in Nigeria, we saw it happened in Kenya, Zimbabwe, and now in Iran. Apart from the blood shed to sustain the electoral brigandage, material resources, precious gift of time, goodwill, friendship, businesses etc have been lost.
On June 12 2009, Iranians went to the polls to elect a new president for the Islamic Republic. Though there were more than four Presidential candidates only two, the incumbent President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hossein Mousavi stood clearly out in the campaigns. Campaign issues were centered either for the maintenance of the status-quo by the conservatives led by Ahmadinejad or for the progressives, seeking for change led by Mousavi. Using the indomitable power of internet, Twitter and facebook in particular, the young, well-educated, dynamic Iranians were able to mobilize their people both in Iran and in diaspora to show interest in the June 12 2009 elections.
Iranian youths borrowed a leaf from the experience of what happened in America early this year where young people used the power of the internet to mobilize millions of votes for President Barack Obama. And it worked for them. Over 40 million voters turned out to cast their votes, very unprecedented in the history of Iran. I am told that the electoral process was manual and that it was expected that counting of votes and announcing of results will at least take up to 3 days to get the actual results but the riggers and manipulators of Iran had other plans. In few hours they announced the results. They were bent on rigging Ahmadinejad back to power no matter whose ox is gored. And they did and hell was let loose. Iranians have been on the streets since June 14 2009 asking where their votes are. They know whom they voted for and they have refused to be cowed. More than fifty innocent people would have been killed in the bid to sustain the electoral travesty yet the youths of Iran are not deterred.
On Friday June 19 2009 the Iranian spiritual leader Ayatollah Khameni addressed Iranians asking them accept the travesty in the name of Religious Democracy. From all indications and from his speech, it did not take Iranians long to discover that their spiritual leader has taken sides with Ahmadinejad. They advanced more kindergarten reasons why the Iranians should accept the result of the heavily rigged elections. He talked about 11 million votes difference in favour of Ahmadinejad and claimed that the 11 million ahead of Mousavi is an indication that incumbent won the election fair and square. Khameni blamed the foreign media for the escalation of the crisis. That of course reminded me of the reasons IBB gave for the annulment of our own June 12 1993 Presidential elections.
Annullers of June 12 1993 elections had told us that soldiers did not want Abiola as President and yet Abiola 90% of the votes in military barracks. IBB said “The National Electoral Commission did not reach all voters to confirm holding of elections on June 12 1993 after the court ruling” and yet 14 million Nigerians voted for Tofa and Abiola. IBB claimed again that “There was conflict of interest in the process of authentication and clearance of presidential candidates” and yet the candidates went from wards to Local Governments, from Local Governments to State and to the national level with the nation’s security forces raising no objection.
You see, Annullers and Riggers will always have reasons to give to justify their criminalities but the people are no fools. This is simply the reason while Iranians defied the spiritual leader’s antics and arm twisting. They have heard it before. An attempt to gag the people by closing down the internet has been largely frustrated by clever Iranians who devised other means to handle the votes robbers of Iran. An attempt to blame the Western media is not holding water either, and in fact it has simply become a basket case. President Obama has told the Iranian votes robbers that they are at liberty to ignore the so-called Western media propaganda but they should listen to the voices of their own people and respect their votes.
Iranians at home, Africa, Europe, Asia, South America have been asking “Where are our votes” I believe it is only ‘President’ Ahmadinejad and his cohorts can provide the answer. It is significant to note that Iranian women are the leading force in the protest. A lesson too significant to ignore by the Nigerian women. Democracy is no democracy if our votes cannot count. Democracy means nothing if there is no development. Democracy is no democracy if the people are not allowed to change their leaders through a free and fair process. Democracy is useless if we deliberately use the blood of our people to water it.
In Nigeria, we like the Iranians went to the streets to protest the annulment of June 12 1993 Presidential elections won by Chief Moshood Abiola and over 10,000 Nigerians including Chief Abiola and his wife paid the supreme price. And yet Nigerian politicians have refused to learn from that ugly past. In 1999, 2003 and 2007, the riggers became more daring, more ferocious, more sophisticated, and bolder. The result is that nearly 90% of people in power from the presidency to the Local Governments were not elected by the people. Consequently we have suffered the rules of idiots for 10 years. And with idiots in power nothing is safe and nothing can be achieved.
The Guardian Counsel of Iran says they have discovered irregularities in June 12 2009 Presidential elections. Now what are they going to do about it? Will they accept the travesty in the name of preserving the system? Will they accept the fraudulent election in the name of Religious Democracy? What are they going to do to bring peace in Iran? Justice brings peace and peace ushers in progress in any nation.
A new dangerous dimension was introduced recently in Kenya and Zimbabwe by electoral criminals. Incumbents who lost the elections brazenly forced the winners to accept a compromise of sharing power with them. This is dangerous and unacceptable. I know that if the protests continue in Iran, Ahmadinejad and his clueless touts might borrow the Kenya and Zimbabwe rogue example.
I strongly believe that Nigeria has a lot of lessons to learn from events happening around us. After the ugly events of 1993, 1999, 2003 and 2007 there is no reason why Nigeria will continue to follow the path of perdition. We have gone so low that we now receive advice on how to move forward from citizens of unknown and rag-tag countries in Africa. You see, if you call your boat a toy children will use it to play football. A school of thought says if you are felled by macro-indignity you become foot mat of all sorts of micro-indignities.
2011 is around the corner I hope that Nigeria will get it right this time around. I hope our leaders are prepared to make the sacrifices in order to save this country from election riggers. I hope that our election manipulators will do some growing up, putting on our thinking caps, assuming they are capable of thinking for themselves, in order to prevent untoward events in 2011.
Nigerians in diaspora are waiting, the internet warriors around the world are positioning themselves, the pro-democracy activists in Nigeria are waiting also for the shameless riggers to come to town in 2011. This time they will not succeed in Nigeria
JOE IGBOKWE
PUBLICITY SECRETARY
ACTION CONGRESS LAGOS STATE
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