He added: At the outset, all of the regime's factions, including Khamenei, Khatami and Rafsanjani's factions claimed that more than 32 million - or 83% of the electorate - had cast their ballots, describing the turnout as a sign of the regime's stability, unity and legitimacy. Two days later, however, as factional infighting escalated over Rafsanjani's votes, they suddenly reduced the number of those who voted to less than 27 million.
According to official figures and statistics, this figure in less than 69.7% of the eligible voters. In late 1976, during the fifth Majlis elections, the regime claimed that more than 71% had taken part in the elections.
The government-controlled daily, Ressalat, wrote on February 23: "Of those eligible to vote, 12 million did not go to the polls." A day earlier, it had also acknowledged: "Compared with the presidential elections, the number of ballot boxes had been reduced by 10% in the recent elections... so that voting lines would be longer to give the impression of a high turnout."
Different ruling factions lambasted each other and discredited the elections. There are countless cases of rigging as well as accusations and counter-accusations which have led to bloody clashes. A week after the vote, the results in Tehran are not yet known and Rafsanjani's votes fluctuate constantly. The governor of Tehran said on February 22 that "50,000 individuals" are counting the votes in the capital. If we accept the Interior Ministry's figure of 3.2 million voters at face value, each of the 50,000 voters only has had 64 ballots to count. Surely counting 64 votes cannot take a week!
Those in Khatami's camp say there has been a great deal of rigging in South Tehran and that there must be a recount. The Council of Guardians says there was more rigging in northern Tehran and the votes must be recounted. The Interior Ministry's parliamentary deputy says "strange numbers have emerged" after the recount.
As such, those who have pinned hope on election results in or out of Iran are unaware of the fact that the clerical regime and all of its factions and groupings in their entirety are melting down.
The state-owned daily, Jomhouri Islami, wrote on February 22 that all those who are concerned about the Tehran regime "will soon realize the bitter reality that in recent years' infighting, the primary losers have been the clerics and revolutionaries of whatever tendencies... Naturally, when the main loser is clear, with a little insight, one can realize who the primary winner is."
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
February 25, 2000
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