Bush is right: the Iranian elections are unfair

Iranians are going to the polls at the moment to decide on a new President and government. Meanwhile, US President George Bush has denounced the election as unfair, saying that the authorities' blocking of reformist candidates from contesting the poll means that the election "ignores the basic requirements of democracy".

There's a lot that could be said here about the way the two major US political parties conspire at the state level to manipulate ballot access rules to prevent competition, but Bush's point remains: a system where those in power can exercise a veto over who is allowed to challenge them is fundamentally undemocratic. The Iranian elections are a lot better than none at all, but they are also a long way from being free and fair.