On March 14, 2008, Iranians went to the polls in parliamentary elections, but don't be quick to call them free or fair: After the mullahs were done slashing candidates off the roster, only perhaps 90 of the 290 seats up for grabs had a liberal candidate allowed on the ballot. Ayatollah Ali Khameini, who as Supreme Leader has the last say on political issues and presidents as it is, encouraged voters to back Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's slate and, according to the Associated Press, "elect the candidates the United States opposes and 'whose loyalties are to Islam and justice.'"


Reform-minded voters were stuck in a difficult position: stay home and protest the vote for arbitrarily disqualifying opposition candidates, or, as reformist leaders urged, get out there and cast ballots so at least hard-line conservatives wouldn't increase their parliamentary majority by a landslide. About 1,700 candidates, mostly reformists, were blocked from the ballot by the Guardian Council for allegedly being too un-Islamic.

Much of Ahmadinejad's presidency has been dedicated to reversing the minute reforms offered by previous President Mohammad Khatami, whose popularity with young reformists earned him the ire of the ayatollah. The Independent has a must-read from Tehran on just what has happened to those dreams of reform:

• "The closure of newspapers and the jailing of journalists has become commonplace. But for the first time, a prize-winning young novelist has been sentenced to jail for the behaviour of his fictional characters. Directives from the National Security Council containing the latest Islamic guidelines land on the desks of Iranian editors once or twice a week, and they are in no doubt that they must comply. They have been told in the past that any mention of Hizbollah, or of the Syrian President Bashar Assad, is strictly off-limits.
  But a recent classified directive broke new ground by decreeing in minute detail how to report on every story. It was unprecedented even for the radical nationalist government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Iranian sources say it is part of an almost surreal trend of censorship.
  
  ...The censor's verdict is even falling on new editions of published works. The Culture Ministry demands changes, and if the demand is not met, halts publication.
  
  ...On 6 March, the general director of public libraries, Mansour Vaezi, warned a conference of library directors that their libraries would be purged of inappropriate works.
  
  Academic freedom has also been severely restricted in the three years since President Ahmadinejad came to power. University faculty members deemed to be 'problematic' are being forced into retirement, and even sacked..."