Supporters of reformist Mirhossein Mousavi have adopted green as their campaign’s color.
A leading figure in Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards has warned that any prospect of a “velvet revolution” will not be tolerated. Tension is mounting, even as the election campaign enters a compulsory quiet day for voter reflection.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s supporters have grown increasingly vexed as his early lead has evaporated. Some observers even suggest that his rival Mirhossein Mousavi could secure a majority in the first round of voting.
“The presence of supporters of Mirhossein Mousavi on the streets is part of a velvet revolution,” claimed Yadollah Javani, head of the Guards’ political office. “There are many indications that some extremist groups have designed a colorful revolution, using a specific color for the first time in an election,” Javani said.
Mousavi supporters have adopted green as their campaign’s color. Green flags, ribbons and other campaign paraphernalia can be seen plastered across Tehran. The authorities apparently fear that festive street demonstrations could become more serious as the election results come in.
However, there is little prospect that a reformist victory in Friday’s presidential election will seriously challenge the Islamic Republic’s complex theocracy.
“Things in Iran move slowly. It would mark a significant change, but it wouldn’t reflect regime change,” according to Ali Ansari of the University of St Andrews in Scotland.
In any case, the presidency enjoys relatively few prerogatives, notes analyst Karim Sadjadpour. “Despite the Iranian president’s high profile both domestically and internationally, his power is more akin to an influential U.S. vice president (a recent one comes to mind) who chooses important cabinet positions and helps sets the tone on economic and foreign policy,” he writes.
Tensions within the ruling elite were highlighted this week with a sensational letter from former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani which claims that Ahmadinejad “lied and violated laws against religion, morality and fairness, and as he targeted the achievements of our Islamic system.” In an unprecedented appeal to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, the letter demanded that the regime ensure free and fair elections.
As chairman of the powerful Expediency Council and the Assembly of Experts, which oversees the supreme leader, Rafsanjani retains considerable influence. The episode confirms that “Ahmadinejad now confronts surging forces from without (the street) and within (the clerical hierarchy).”
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