Lesson in democracy

The recent Iranian elections, which should give that theocratic nation a more tolerant regime, also offer lessons for authoritarian states elsewhere, not least in Asia.

But this was no repeat of the 1979 revolution which overthrew the shah. The mullahs still control a parallel administration able to nullify actions deemed contrary to precepts of the Islamic revolution. But their grip has been loosened. By all accounts, people were fed up with the religious zeal that governed their private lives and shackled the economy.

Iranians, like most other people, do not like having rulers meddle in their daily affairs and dictate ways of dressing, reading, talking, working and more. They did not try to topple the system, but did choose politicians willing to relax a bit and leave them alone.

That lesson should be noted from Singapore to Beijing and beyond. Complaints about local governments are often not calls for revolt, though insecure rulers may deem them so. Frequently, they merely point to corruption, highhanded bureaucrats or other flaws. Giving people greater say in how they are governed, as in Iran, can promote tolerance while avoiding the political turmoil which so frightens self-perpetuating elites.

-- The South China Morning Post, Hong Kong