In the eyes of the world a sharp contrast will emerge between two very conservative neighbours, namely Iran and Afghanistan after last Saturday’s Afghan Elections.

 

At the moment both the Iranian clerics and the state controlled media respond to the Afghan Presidential elections in confusion and discomfort. The worrying bit comes from the underlying message to the Iranian public and how they perceive Afghan Refugees in Iran, reacting to the first ever democratic elections in Afghanistan.

 

Under a very strict regime, Iranians still vote to elect their president. But Iranian elections lack the fundamental principles of democracy: the element of choice. In reality, the very nature of democracy, free and fair election in Iran is against the odds of old guard Akhund opposition. There is a Presidential election in Iran, but the process is up against the overreaching power of veto available to the Islamic religious leaders under the Constitution, even when it comes to the polls results.

 

Not only election processe but serious human rights issues distances Iran conservative Islamic regime from the rest of the world. Just over the border, the situation is very different now. The conservative Taliban are long gone and Afghans for the first time test democracy through the right to vote.

 

For the last couple of days, Iranian public and media response to the Afghan refugee participation in presidential elections was quit positive. In contrast the media controlled by conservatives were trying to divert public’s attention to the problems and confusion created during Afghan elections.

 

Through this policy of media control, Iranian Akhunds are trying to back up their foretelling on US intervention in Afghanistan after 9/11, 2001. Coupled with the US troubles in Iraq, the Iranian clerics were expecting the Afghan vote meet the ultimate failure; an all out boycott by Afghans or even worse.

 

The rift between Iranian conservative and modernist elements is ever growing over Afghan policies. The conservative Akhunds are trying to portray to the public that Afghan election was no more than an orchestrated effort by the US and her allies to destabilize Iran. It also portrays the interim Afghan leader, Hamid Karzai nothing more than a US proxy.

 

However, the modernist elements watch the developments in Afghanistan very differently. They see the recent developments in Afghanistan as a success story for nations trying to ascend from a conservative, backward past to one of a modern, well off state. They also want to show to the conservative elements and Iranian public that Afghanistan can be an Islamic model state and still not in odds with the West.

 

The fact that Iran conservative elements once again tried to assert their influence over Afghanistan’s future through last week’s elections meet another disasterous end.  Interim leader Hamid Karzai, pro US and a pragmatic Afghan leader, sofar held a commanding lead in the election race and is favourite to win the elections. That means Iran’s legacy of using its proxies to influence Afghan politics is over, at least for the time being.   

 

As Pakistan grows weary of political and military influences by India and developments in Afghanistan, Iran have more to worry from its eastern and western borders. Unlike the one time superpower in Islamic ideology, Iran now batters to protect it’s own people from post-war modern political ideologies coming from Afghanistan.  The more worrisome developments for Islamic regime is the presence of US military in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

 

The political changes in Afghanistan will inevitably bring about modernistic tendencies to Iranian public. History shows that developments in Afghanistan had a lasting effect on Iranian politics. Whether from King Amanullah’s early 20^th century efforts to modernize Afghanistan to President Sardar Daoud’s wheeling Afghanistan towards a Republic which lead to 1979 infamous Russian invasion or the last decade of Afghan civil war brought about by conservative elements, Iranian public are following the developments very closely and probably wish to bring about drastic changes to the way they practice democracy in Iran.