Tel: (202) 619-2538
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E-mail: pubaff@ibb.gov

Washington, D.C., February 24, 2000—The Voice of America’s Farsi Service went “live” to provide comprehensive coverage as voters in Iran flooded the polling stations to give the pro-reform forces a landslide victory in last week’s landmark parliamentary elections.

During a live radio/TV simulcast on February 18, the day of the voting, VOA correspondent Scott Bobb provided up-to-the-minute coverage from polling stations in Teheran.  Callers from various Iranian cities inundated VOA Farsi’s studio lines to share observations from the polling stations and voice views about their country’s political future.

“We received instantaneous reports from all over Iran,” said Ali Jalali, Chief of VOA’s Farsi Service.  “Scott Bobb’s reports combined with the calls we received gave us a very good indication of how the vote was going while the polls were still open.”

The coverage included dozens of interviews with political figures, journalists, candidates in the elections, analysts, and voters.  Correspondent Bobb interviewed a cross section of Iranian voters in Teheran and spoke with a number of political leaders representing conservative and reformist factions.  These included Gholam Hossein Karbaschi, former mayor of Teheran and a centrist politician; Nima Fateh, a leader of Iranian Students’ Organization; Sayed Mohammad Mousavi, an official of the Elections Supervisory Commission; and Ahmad Mahmoudian, an election observer from the conservative-dominated Council of Guardians.

From Washington, VOA Farsi reached members of different political parties in Iran who commented on the campaign issues, profile of the candidates, the way elections were organized, and preliminary results of the vote.  In separate interviews with the Farsi Service on the election day, February 18, Ms. Shirin Ebadi, a women’s rights activist, Nemat Ahmadi, a Teheran-based lawyer, and Behrouz Salimzadeh, a candidate running on an opposition party ticket in Teheran, offered their eyewitness accounts from the polling stations.

VOA’s Arabic, Turkish, Kurdish, Azerbaijani, and other services broadcasting to the region provided extensive coverage of the Iranian voting.  VOA’s Farsi broadcasts reached listeners in Iran thanks to the addition of three frequencies each for its morning and evening programs.

VOA’s Farsi Service broadcasts from 0300-0430 and 1700-1900 UTC.  Round Table with You is telecast at 1800 UTC every Friday.  The Voice of America broadcasts world, regional and U.S. news in 53 languages to an estimated audience of 91 million people each week.
 

Contact: George Mackenzie
Phone: 202-619-2538
E-mail: pubaff@voa.gov