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Iranian Election a Sham for Most Americans
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Few adults in the United States believe last month’s presidential ballot in Iran was free and fair, according to a poll by Opinion Research Corporation released by CNN. 82 per cent of respondents think the results released by the Iranian government were a fraud and an attempt to steal the election.
Also, 74 per cent of respondents believe the U.S. government should not directly intervene in the situation in Iran, while 24 per cent believe the federal administration should openly support the demonstrators who are protesting the election.
Iran’s presidential election took place on Jun. 12. Official results gave incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a victory with 62.63 per cent of the vote, followed by reformist candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi with 33.75 per cent.
Mousavi rejected the published numbers, calling them a "dangerous charade." Thousands of Mousavi supporters, wearing green clothes, have taken to the streets to protest the outcome since the day after the election. The demonstrations have spread to practically all major cities.
Iran’s true head of state—the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei—first called the re-election of Ahmadinejad a "massive success" and a "divine blessing", but later agreed to a partial recount of the vote. On Jun. 20, Khamenei said that public demonstrations are "not acceptable" and that opposition leaders would be "held responsible for chaos" if they fail to end the protests.
On Jun. 26, U.S. president Barack Obama discussed the situation in Iran, saying, "The violence perpetrated against [the demonstrators] is outrageous. In spite of the government’s efforts to keep the world from bearing witness to that violence, we see it and we condemn it."
Polling Data
Do you think the results of the recent election that were released by the Iranian government were an accurate reflection of how Iranians voted, or do you think those results were a fraud and an attempt by the government to steal the election?
|
Accurate |
10% |
|
Fraud |
82% |
|
Unsure |
7% |
Do you think the U.S. government should openly support the demonstrators who are protesting the recent election in that country, or do you think the U.S. should not directly intervene in the situation in Iran?
|
Openly support |
24% |
|
Not directly intervene |
74% |
|
Unsure |
1% |
Source: Opinion Research Corporation / CNN
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,026 American adults, conducted from Jun. 26 to Jun. 28, 2009. Margin of error is 3 per cent.