Archive for June 8th, 2009

Insight on Iran’s Presidential Election

Monday, June 8th, 2009

Record numbers are expected to turn out for Friday’s presidential election in Iran, which features President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad running for another four-year term against three challengers. Smeal’s Fariborz Ghadar, director of the Center for Global Business Studies, says that the reelection of Ahmadinejad is not quite a foregone conclusion.

Last week, he wrote a piece previewing the election, outlining the implications for U.S. foreign policy, and explaining why he believes the challengers pose a threat to Ahmadinejad. You can read his entire election preview online here.

Below, Ghadar provides some background on each of the candidates:

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: He is a former Revolutionary Guard, and his anti-Israel rhetoric and support for Iran’s nuclear program have caused alarm in the West. During his term in office, we have seen tensions rise in U.S.-Iranian relations. At 53, he is the youngest candidate, Iran’s first nonclerical president in more than 25 years, and appears to have the backing of the supreme leader. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged voters in May to choose an anti-Western leader. However, Ahmadinejad is blamed for a disappointing economy, unemployment, and rising inflation. He has promised to share Iran’s oil wealth more fairly: a position that still resonates with the poor.

For Ahmadinejad, the stakes could not be higher. In order to assure his support among the poor, the government is handing out 400,000 tons of free potatoes in rural areas. Ahmadinejad’s opponents accuse him of trying to buy the poor’s vote. “Death to potatoes” is a moderate rally chant. While to much of the world the election is about Iran’s nuclear ambitions, to most Iranians, the economy is the main issue.

Mohsen Rezaie: Rezaie is branded as a moderate conservative. He is 55 years old; only slightly older than Ahmadinejad. He was commander of the Revolutionary Guards during the Iraq war and now heads the Expediency Council. In 2006, an international arrest warrant was issued against Rezaie for alleged involvement in the Buenos Aires bombing of a Jewish cultural center in 1994; he denies any involvement. He will pursue Ahmadinejad’s ideological path but with a more moderate foreign policy position. He supports privatization to improve the non-oil sectors of the economy. His support is likely to come from conservatives opposed to Ahmadinejad. This may split the conservative vote, preventing a 50 percent first round decision. Few expect him to win the election.

(more…)

Tags: Ghadar, Politics
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