Letter to Ban Ki-Moon, August 2009

Dear Mr Ban Ki-moon
Evidence shows that in the Islamic republic of Iran elections are not free, competitive or fair, and they never lead to a real transformation in the country's political structure. Several reasons exist for this:
Article 110 of the constitution of the Islamic republic of Iran places most of the power in the hands of the supreme leader (rahbar) and institutions that are directly under his control. Article 57 of the constitution places all three branches of the government – namely the executive, legislative and the judicial branches – "under the purview of the absolute [divine] rule and [divine] leadership" of the supreme leader. The people of Iran only have a say in voting for the presidency, the Islamic Consultative Assembly (Majlis), and local councils. Even if the people's representatives were to be elected on fair and competitive grounds, they would be unable to bring about any real reforms in the affairs of the state. Non-elective institutions, such as the guardian council, the exigency assembly and the High Council of Cultural Revolution, often thwart and nullify the action of elected institutions.
In practice, the real power in Iran lies in the hands of the supreme leader and it goes beyond the letter of the law as written in the constitution. According to article 98 of the constitution of the Islamic republic of Iran, the guardian council has the authority to interpret the constitution, and members of this council are directly appointed by the supreme leader. The guardian council holds that the power of the supreme leader is not limited by the letter of constitution, rendering the powers of the rahbar of the Islamic republic virtually limitless.
The recent Iranian elections were carried out under these same limiting circumstances. Moreover, political dissidents are excluded from the pool of candidates, and a precondition for being considered as a candidate is to express their belief in and adherence to Islam, the constitution of the Islamic republic and the absolute authority of the supreme leader. In the latest parliamentary elections, the guardian council disqualified 2,000 potential candidates and excluded them from the candidates' pool. Again, in the most recent presidential elections, the guardian council disqualified 471 applicants for candidacy and only allowed four candidates into the competition, all of whom had previously held top official positions in the Islamic republic over the past three decades. During the Friday prayer congregation on 19 June, the supreme leader of the Islamic republic publicly divulged that the one candidate who came closest to his own personal views was Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
In the election held on 12 June 2009 more than 80% of eligible voters participated under these very restrictive and pre-screened conditions. Sadly, their free choice was rejected even in this latest election, and Ahmadinejad was announced as the winner.
Most Iranians concur that their vote has not been truthfully accounted for. All across the country, the people have come out and held peaceful rallies to protest at electoral violations that amount to a drastic violation of their right to shape their future. Sadly, the government of the Islamic republic has faced off these peaceful and civil protests harshly, and several innocent people, including students in the nation's universities have been barbarically assaulted by the state police. Numerous political and civil activists have been imprisoned without due process and, and at the same time, communication networks have been widely disrupted and severe restrictions have been placed on the activities of reporters and international observers.
We, intellectuals, political activists, and defenders of democratic rights and liberties beseech you to heed the widespread protests of the Iranian people and to take immediate and urgent action by:
1) Forming an international truth-finding commission to examine the electoral process, vote counting and the fraudulent manipulation of the people's vote in Iran
2) Pressuring the government in Iran to annul fraudulent election results and hold democratic, competitive and fair elections under the auspices of the UN
3) Pressuring the government of the Islamic republic to release all those detained in the course of recent protests
4) Pressuring the government of the Islamic republic to free the media that have been banned in recent days and to recognise and respect the right of the people to free expression of ideas and the nonviolent protesting the results of the recent elections
5) Pressuring the government of the Islamic republic to stop its harsh and barbaric treatment of the people of Iran
6) Refuse to recognise Ahmadinejad's illegitimate government that has staged an electoral coup, and curtailing any and all forms of co-operation with it from all nations and international organisations
Sincerely
1. Akbar Ganji, journalist
2. Jürgen Habermas (JW Goethe Universitaet, Frankfurt)
3. Noam Chomsky, MIT
4. Charles Taylor, McGill University
5. Martha Nussbaum, University of Chicago
6. Jose Ramos-Horta (Recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, 1996)
7. Orhan Pamuk (Recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature, 2006)
8. Nadine Gordimer (Recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature, 1991)
9. Mario Vargas Llosa (Novelist, Peru)
10. Robert Bellah, UC-Berkeley
11. Seyla Benhabib, Yale University
12. Cornel West, Princeton University
13. Hilary Putnam, Harvard University
14. Benjamin Barber, senior fellow, Demos
15. Craig Calhoun, Social Science Research Council
16. Howard Zinn, Boston University
17. John Esposito, Georgetown University
18. Michael Walzer, Princeton University
19. Adam Michnik, essayist, Poland
20. Ahmad Rashid, journalist, Pakistan
and 242 others