Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi - February 28, 2003

Participation in the elections of the Islamic city and village councils and the people's disapproval of these elections and the non-participation of Ayatollah Khamenei in these elections

Ayatollah Khamenei deliberately went to the city of Konarak and publicly said that he would not participate in the elections because non-natives could not vote, and criticized the approval of national-religious candidates, saying that they should be considered if their approval was not legal, they should be eliminated.

Full text of the diary:

At 9:30 a.m., I went to Hosseinieh Jamaran to vote in the elections for the [Islamic] council of Tehran. I voted for several candidates and had interviews with journalists. Effat and the children went to vote in the afternoon. All reports show that people's participation is lower than in the previous period, due to the poor performance of the councils. Some of the candidates are concerned about the fraud of the Ministry of Interior in the elections. Last night, on the plane, Mr. [Eshagh] Jahangiri and Mr. [Ali] Larijani were saying the same thing.

In the Security Council, the debate on the U.S. resolution [authorizing a military invasion of Iraq] continues behind closed doors. Russia has said it will use its veto power to avert war if necessary. Saddam [Iraqi President Hussein] has also said that he is willing to accept the destruction of the Al-Samoud missiles, but the United States says that the destruction of the missiles to prevent war is fruitless.

In Pakistan, the US consulate in Karachi was attacked and a number of bodyguards were killed. In Colombia, three U.S. spies have been captured by guerrillas since two weeks ago. The guerrillas have demanded that they be exchanged for their own prisoners.