Thursday 18 June 2009

Now or never in Iran - support Avaaz' s exit poll of Iranian voters

As millions of Iranians are taking to the streets in outrage at evidence that Thursday’s election was rigged, the international civic organization Avaaz is asking people to support a rigorous exit poll to urgently establish the truth about the vote:

Avaaz is urgently organising a rigorous “exit poll” of Iranian voters and a media effort to publicise it, working with an international polling firm to do a telephone survey of Iranian citizens to ask how they voted. We urgently need 10,000 Avaaz members to pitch in a small amount each to raise $119,000 in the next 24 hours and give Iranians a powerful new way to be heard -- follow this link to view video from the streets of Tehran and support this exit poll to find out the truth.

Public polling in Iran is heavily restricted, and no-one else is mobilizing fast enough to fund an international exit poll. It's urgent that we pitch in. A telephone poll won't be 100% accurate, but the difference between opposition and government claims is massive -- a rigorous poll can show which claim is remotely near the truth.

Unlike Western organizations, Avaaz's global network has a strong membership in Iran and across the Middle East. Backed by a respected polling firm, our effort will be harder to dismiss by Iranian conservatives. We'll send the poll results to the media and help our members in Iran to rapidly and virally spread the news despite the regime's blackout.

This election matters to us all. Iran is a major regional power, and the international community is seeking diplomatic engagement that holds a key to peace in the Middle East. But hawks and extremists on all sides want war instead: a conservative coup in Iran could destroy all our hopes.

The conservative Guardian Council, headed by a key Ahmadinejad ally, is reviewing the vote over the next 9 days -- our poll can be ready before they give their verdict, to counter any further rigging and the violent purge that could follow.

In the next 72 hours, the Iranian people will try once again to be heard. Let’s help make sure their voices are not silenced -- follow this link to see their courage and donate now to help fund the exit poll

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