Voting Irregularities Announced!

Day 1, Ahmedinajad said it was like the frustration after a soccer match. I'm American, and I've heard people get pretty rowdy about soccer, but I think it's safe to say that he underestimated what he was dealing with. At least 50 deaths have been confirmed during the protests, which the government advertises as riots. Some put the totals above 100. Thousands have been injured

The Guardian Council, the body officially in charge of the election, officially charged with current task of finding out if there are any irregularities in this election, and officially taking its time, finally spoke up today.



50 of the 360 districts reported above 100% turnout. However, they argue that Ahmedinijad won by such a large number that it is inconsequential, and the high turnout is a result of people voting in multiple districts, which is apparently easy to do Iran if you can drive fast on election day.

They said that they would recount the ballots from the 50 districts if the candidates requested, but they are correct: It is mathematically impossible for Mousavi to overcome the deficit unless all ballots, from all districts are recounted. Of course, Mousavi will refuse the offer, but this does show that protesting for a week straight is the first step in bringing near absolute power to the bargaining table.

Mousavi, however, is refusing to bargain. It seems he's set his terms at lets-have-a-new-election-or 100,000s-of-people-will-protest-in-the-streets-of-Tehran-daily. And it is working. Police violence has escalated to the point that today, he stated he would stand by the people "until martyrdom".

And there are already many martyrs in this struggle. Every death is fuel for protest. And every protester is cannon fodder. The People, underestimated at each stage in this conflict, have far too much moment to back down anytime soon.