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AP photo Mark Baker
There is a kind of democracy at work in Iran, even as we get word that a protester was shot dead and several others wounded as militia personnel opened fire. Tens of thousands have taken to the streets claiming that Ahmadinijad stole the country's presidential election from the more reform minded Mousavi.
All candidates must first be vetted and approved by the Guardian Council and the Supreme Leader, who kind of like a king, has the final say on pretty much anything he wants to have the final say on.
At first, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei gave his blessing to the election results, but unrest in the street has caused him to call for an investigation into allegations of fraud. Even the Supreme Leader is not totally immune to anger in the streets.
Whether fraud is determined and Ahmadinijad is forced to step down, or even face a public lynching, wont be based so much on the facts as how things play out in the street. The army and police could stand firm behind the current regime and the protests could eventually wind down. In that case, the election results stand. If the army and police start becoming reluctant to attack their friends and neighbors, and the regime can't get the situation in the street under control, the Gaurdian Council could well declare the election null and void (at the behest of the Supreme Leader) and if he's lucky, Ahmadinijad will just have to step down. If the crowd wants more than that, he may have to run for his life.
It's a hard road to accountability to the people when you live in a dictatorship, but as we saw in East Germany, if sufficiently motivated, the mob will have it's way. It's both a numbers game and a test of wills.
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