Katherine Harris, the Former Republican Florida Secretary of State who rose to prominence during the notorious 2000 Florida Bush-Gore recount, has applauded the "re-election" of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Speaking from Tehran, where she had been brought in by the government to monitor the election process, Harris declared that the surprising and some say suspect 63% victory by the incumbent Ahmadinejad, was indeed proper and that the elections were conducted in a "free and fair" way.
Voting for change. Ahmadinejad's main opponent Hossein Mousavi was widely expected to force the incumbent into a second-round runoff or even defeat him outright, spurred on by an progressive alliance of young voters, which reports suggest had turned out in droves. However, the authorities appear to have dampened that hope, with reports of fraud and other vote-rigging widespread. SMS text messaging, a key way that Mousavi had rallied voters, has been blocked by the authorities since Friday, while police are moving in to prevent any demonstrations by the oppostion. Commenting on the continued reports of vote-rigging and intimidation, Harris said "This is just sour grapes. The time has now come to move on."
Ahmadinejad supporters.