Regime under pressure but change unlikely

Writing for the Swiss daily Le Temps, Stéphane Bussard describes the Iranian presidential elections as an "unbelievable paradox", noting that although there is a clear opposition to current president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, change seems unlikely: "Since the revolution of [Ayatollah Ruhollah Musavi] Khomeini in 1979 all outgoing presidents have been re-elected. … Yet the Iranians are demonstrating an unusual democratic dynamic. They are willing to grasp at the tiniest fragment of freedom to express their desire for a future and democracy. … The Iranian youth has let itself be carried away by the 'green wave' [of opposition candidate and reformer Mir-Hossein Mousavi]. … It is ready to do whatever it takes to prevent the re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad whose style, war rhetoric and repressive moral practices they find disturbing. … The mobilisation of the Iranians cranks up the pressure on a regime that is increasingly alienated from its people, who demand an opening [to the West]."

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