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(Image source: The New York Times)
BY JOHN O'CONNOR
Iran is ruled for life by a supreme leader, but every four years the nation also elects
a president to run the day-to-day affairs.
For the last eight years that president has been Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, but now he must
step down because of term limit restrictions. The race for his successor is tightly controlled
by Iran's ruler — Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. (via RT)
"The leader's allies have disqualified a number of candidates who may have posed a threat
to clerical rule. In the end, six candidates now go forward to the first round of voting."
(via BBC)
All six candidates are from Iran's alliance of Shiite Muslim clerics, are Revolutionary
Guard commanders and are considered traditionalists. However, three candidates have separated themselves
from the pack —
— Including Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, who's emerged as the frontrunner.
The 47-year-old is said to be the most outspoken hard-liner in the group, making it almost
certain Iran's troubled relationship with the U.S. will continue. (via CBS)
Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf is said to be a close second. Another hard-line conservative, he
is the current mayor of the Iranian capital, Tehran. (via CBS)
And Hassan Rowhani rounds out the top three — the only candidate with an even slightly
different views than the other traditionalists — promising better relations with the U.S.
and other western countries. (via CBS)
All Iranian citizens are able to vote, but The New York Times points out the supreme
ruler vets the candidates, suppresses unwanted voices and keeps a watchful eye over the public.
"The Iranian government is known to restrict digital communication in various ways. Google
said Wednesday that it had uncovered a vast Iranian spy campaign that had been targeting
tens of thousands of Iranian citizens over the past three weeks."
Iranian elections are extremely unpredictable due to lack of independent polling and possible
manipulation. In 2005, Ahmadinejad reportedly came out of nowhere to win the presidency.