Bill Text: NJ AR36 | 2012-2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Supports free and open elections in Iran and endorses Iranian reform movement.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 2-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-01-10 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly State Government Committee [AR36 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2012-AR36-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
215th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2012 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman JON M. BRAMNICK
District 21 (Morris, Somerset and Union)
Assemblyman JAY WEBBER
District 26 (Essex, Morris and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Supports free and open elections in Iran and endorses Iranian reform movement.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
An Assembly Resolution supporting free and open elections in Iran and endorsing the Iranian reform movement.
Whereas, On June 12, 2009, more than 46 million Iranian voters (85 percent of the nation's eligible voters) took part in a democratic election to determine Iran's next President; and
Whereas, The two major contenders in Iran's presidential election were incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and Mir Hossein Mousavi - Iran's last Prime Minister, and a member of the reformist party; and
Whereas, Although on June 13, 2009, the Interior Ministry declared Ahmadinejad the election winner, reporting that he had received almost 63 percent of the popular vote, Mousavi immediately challenged the election results, alleging "numerous and blatant irregularities," which were indicative of fraud; and
Whereas, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has authorized only limited investigation of election results and only a partial re-count of votes, both of which are to be conducted by the Guardian Counsel - the body that supervises elections, and one of the bodies alleged to have committed questionable acts during the election; and
Whereas, Mousavi supporters have mobilized en masse several times in order to call for a new election - most notably, on June 15, 2009, when hundreds of thousands of reformists gathered together in the nation's largest public demonstration since the Islamic Revolution in 1979; and
Whereas, Iranian officials have engaged in several acts of media censorship in the face of controversy surrounding the election results - suspending Internet and mobile phone services, banning media coverage of "unauthorized" rallies, and threatening Iran's online media with legal action if their sites publish material that creates "tension;" and
Whereas, In the days following the election, Iranian police arrested over 100 protesters as well as several prominent reformists and supporters of Mousavi, and at least seven protestors were killed; and
Whereas, Leaders of western nations, including United States President, Barack Obama, have expressed concern about the legitimacy of the election's outcome, and the United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, has called for the will of the Iranian people to be "fully respected;" and
Whereas, Based on the immense outpouring of public support for Mousavi and the Iranian government's defensive, retaliatory, and evasive responses to the public's demonstrations in this regard, it appears that the election results may, in fact, have been manipulated, in contradiction of the established principles of democratic representation; and
Whereas, A free and open democracy must begin with the institution of free and open elections - the outcomes of which are determined by the will of the people rather than by fraud and political manipulation; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. This House fully supports free and open democracy in Iran, and it particularly endorses and stands in solidarity with the leaders of the Iranian reformist movement and the millions of Iranian citizens who have mobilized and raised their voices in a unified attempt to ensure the proper institution of free and open elections in Iran.
2. Duly authenticated copies of this resolution, signed by the Speaker of the General Assembly and attested by the Clerk thereof, shall be transmitted to Mohammad Khazaee, Iran's ambassador to the United Nations.
STATEMENT
On June 12, 2009, more than 46 million Iranian voters (85 percent of the nation's eligible voters) took part in a democratic election to determine Iran's next President. The two major contenders were incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and Mir Hossein Mousavi - Iran's last Prime Minister, and a member of the reformist party. Although on June 13, 2009, the Interior Ministry declared Ahmadinejad the election winner, Mousavi immediately challenged the election results, alleging "numerous and blatant irregularities," which were indicative of fraud. Although Mousavi supporters have mobilized en masse several times in order to call for a new election, and although the international community has expressed concern over the outcome of the election, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has authorized only limited investigation of election results and only a partial re-count of votes. Iranian officials have engaged in several acts of media censorship in the face of controversy surrounding the election results, and in the days following the election, Iranian police arrested over 100 protesters as well as several prominent reformists and supporters of Mousavi, and at least seven protestors were killed. Based on the immense outpouring of public support for Mousavi and the Iranian government's defensive, retaliatory, and evasive responses to the public's demonstrations in this regard, it appears that the election results may, in fact, have been manipulated, in contradiction of the established principles of democratic representation.
This resolution provides a strong showing of support for those who are involved in efforts to create a free and open democracy in Iran, and, in particular, it endorses the Iranian reform movement and the recent actions of millions of Iranian citizens who have raised their voices in a unified attempt to ensure the proper institution of free and open elections in Iran.
