On June 13, 2009 the presidential election results for Iran were revealed. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had "won" and Mir-Hassein Mousavi had "lost." This sparked a huge controversy from the people of Iran and those of Iranian decent around the world. Many people in Iran were worried that the election results were completely false so that the government could secure a spot for the radical man Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The Iranian civilians that were worried soon began protests that attracted thousands and thousands of people in Iran and around the world. They used Twitter and other social networking sites in order to communicate when and where protests would take place. The bulk of the people who made up the protesters were educated young Iranian men and women who knew that what their government was doing was completely wrong.
At first, people around the world were not sure what to think about the protesters, but then a closer look into the data from election day astounded officials around the world. They found that the election results had been manipulated! In some provinces in Iran, there was a turnout of over 100% of registered voters! Also, the results were declared invalid because where Ahmadinejad's party had done very poorly before they crushed the opposition. Early opinion polls had found that Ahmadinejad should not have won the election if the results were not manipulated. Unfortunately, the results were tampered with. After this information was discovered, the popular protests became even more popular. Then, millions of people everywhere began to show their support for the protesters. In order to try to calm things down and keep supreme control over their people, the Iranian government closed universities, blocked web sites, blocked cell phone transmissions and texts, and banned rallies. The government even confirmed that it had to kill 36 of its own people while outside news sources reported deaths in the thousands!
These election protests have continued to this day although they are much more feeble because of a fear of the government. If the Iranian government was sure that the election results were truthful then there would have been no reason to severely restrict all media in the country. Many young men and women in Iran lost their lives trying to create a better and more truthful country for there peers. It is very unfortunate and it also shows how desperate they were to show that their government was wrong and that you could stand up to it. For a while, it gave hope to many people in Iran that they could actually live in a place where they could be safe. The corrupt and totalitarian government quickly put a stop to that. One of the most significant things about the election proteststers were that there were many women fighting right alongside the men. This is rarely seen in Iran where women are very confined and do not enjoy many rights.
The most significant effect that these election protests have had on the world are that they have opened the eyes of the world to the fight that people are making for a true democracy. As the population growth of the world slows down, people in every country are being able to find more ways to become educated. As this education occurs and people become more cultured and learned they begin to see the advantages of a true democracy with a rule of law. The election protests in Iran have sparked the trigger for many people in other nations around the world to question their authority and fight for their freedom. People are not dumb, as their governments like to pretend, but instead, they are very smart and can see through many of the atrocities of modern totalitarianism. As the future progresses, there will be more of these rallies around the world calling for freedom and individual liberty and, maybe someday, the world will become a complete democracy where liberty and the role of the citizen prosper.
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