He said: "Since six months ago,... I have been repeatedly telling leading officials of the country... that I want 30 million votes from God." By leading officials, Khamenei means no one other than Rafsanjani and other leaders of the regime.
In a statement after the elections, National Council of Resistance President Massoud Rajavi had noted that "Khamenei and Rafsanjani reached agreement to inflate the number votes cast four to five-fold in a face-saving formula for the regime as a whole."
On the basis of on-site and precise assessment of the Iranian Resistance from 2,500 voting stations in Tehran and 100 other cities, only 6.5 million out of the 39 million eligible voters, or a mere 16% actually went to the polls.
Khamenei also expressed his enormous fear over the regime's disintegration and the escalation of its internal feuding, a direct consequence of Rafsanjani's removal on the one hand and the disastrous defeat of the ruling faction's candidate on the other. He said: "Taking advantage of their media, enemies are trying to portray the people's vote as a kind of protest to and criticism of the regime."
In a brazen lie, the mullahs' leader tried to cover up his prior support for Nateq-Nouri and expressed his concern over the fact that a vast portion of the regime's forces were demoralized due to Nouri's defeat. He stated his dismay over the fact that "a number of the regime's media were influenced by western culture and spoke of victory by some and the defeat of others."
In refuting claims about the regime's moderation, Khamenei stressed: "The slogans by the President-elect... follow the Imam's instructions, revolution's slogans and the Islamic system... All candidates belonged to the system and supported the system and Islam."
Khamenei emphasized in his speech that the Majlis must continue its past policies.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran - Paris
May 28, 1997
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