Like Tennyson's Brook, a Persian election goes on forever, and sees, in its course, a varied scene. In April 1946, Prime Minister Ahmad Gavam first promised to hold an immediate election for the Majlis (Parliament) to ratify the Russian oil concession he had just signed in Moscow. The Russians were then posed menacingly in Azerbaijan. In December 1946, when the Russians abandoned the Azerbaijani Democrats, the election finally "started" with much fanfare. Distribution of registration forms beganby plane, truck and camel back. A TIME correspondent asked Gavam when it would be...
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