Iran Presidential Elections

[Markhor]

Time to say sayonara to the outgoing, and probably one of the most controversial leaders in modern history in Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who leaves the Iranian political stage as Iran goes to the polls to elect his successor.

With Iran-Israel tensions ratcheted up like no other time in history due to the nuclear programme, Ahmedinejad's successor has a difficult inheritance as economic sanctions have really started to bite. Some argue the race is simply between the Supreme Leader's personal picks.

Hope there will be no post-election violence and it all goes peacefully. You gotta love how the media bangs on about 'reformists vs conservatives' when in reality the contest has tended to be in Iran between really really conservatives and really really really conservatives.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22898060

Millions of voters across Iran are casting their ballots in the country's presidential elections.

Although all six candidates are seen as conservatives, one of them, cleric Hassan Rouhani, has been reaching out to the reformists in recent days.

The election will decide a successor to outgoing leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

His eight years in power have been characterised by economic turmoil and Western sanctions against Iran over its controversial nuclear programme.

Some 50 million people are eligible to cast their ballots. Polls across Iran opened at 08:00 local time (03:30 GMT) and were due to close at 18:00 (13:30 GMT).

However, the Iranian Interior Minister, Mostafa Mohammad Najjar, has now announced that voting time will be extended, possibly by several hours.

Ballot counting is still expected to start at midnight local time and results are due to be announced in the following 24 hours.

The minister also told state TV that presidential candidates would have three days to lodge complaints to the vetting body, the Guardian Council, if they were unhappy with the results.

 

[Eagle_Eye]

What a sham!

All the power lays with the supreme leader. Ofcourse only God chooses him!

 

[PakPrince]

The most sham exercise ever lol

Hundreds were barred because the Ayatollah didnt like them. Women wre not allowed lol

 

[DW44]

The whole thing is a joke. The president of Iran has less power than the Queen of England and the US Vice President. The main man pulling the strings behind the scenes is that moronic Ayatollah and his council of morons.

 

[zaid65]

The whole thing is a joke. The president of Iran has less power than the Queen of England and the US Vice President. The main man pulling the strings behind the scenes is that moronic Ayatollah and his council of morons.

What is the difference with us, our strings been pulled from Saudia or sometime from Washington.

I see no difference in all the Islamic world. They all have chosen some kind of " Kaaba" to get direction.

 

[KingKhanWC]

The whole thing is a joke. The president of Iran has less power than the Queen of England and the US Vice President. The main man pulling the strings behind the scenes is that moronic Ayatollah and his council of morons.

The Queen of England has no power in reality. The President of Iran appoints the cabinet and runs the nations day to day affairs. The Supreme leader doesn't really get involved, although he can.

Women wre not allowed lol

Not allowed to do what? President Ahmadinejad appointed the first woman cabinet minister in 2009.

Iran is an independent country and doesn't have sell out puppets like other nations such as Pakistan and the Arab states. The west tried to start an Iranian spring before the Arab spring but it failed miserably.

There is nothing controversial about Ahmadinejad, the western press and governments have been trying to demonise him in order for more war mongering for the Zionist entity.

 

[PakPrince]

Not allowed to do what? President Ahmadinejad appointed the first woman cabinet minister in 2009.

Iran is an independent country and doesn't have sell out puppets like other nations such as Pakistan and the Arab states. The west tried to start an Iranian spring before the Arab spring but it failed miserably.

There is nothing controversial about Ahmadinejad, the western press and governments have been trying to demonise him in order for more war mongering for the Zionist entity.

Run for office. Allah's supposed representative on Earth, the Ayatollah barred them...

And yeah there was nothing controversial about him apart from the fact that he destroyed to Iranian economy and took it back decades regardless of al the sanctions. He is deeply unpopular in Iran right now and even the ayatollah distanced himself from him in the past 2 years,,

 

[KingKhanWC]

Run for office. Allah's supposed representative on Earth, the Ayatollah barred them...

It was the guardian council not the supreme leader who banned them according to their constitution.

And yeah there was nothing controversial about him apart from the fact that he destroyed to Iranian economy and took it back decades regardless of al the sanctions. He is deeply unpopular in Iran right now and even the ayatollah distanced himself from him in the past 2 years,,

He can't run for a third term so we won't know how unpopular he has become. Under the attack of the mad dogs in Washington and Tel Aviv he has done pretty well over his two terms in office. He made mistakes but spoke the truth unlike most politicians around the world.

 

[RexRex]

The whole thing is a joke. The president of Iran has less power than the Queen of England and the US Vice President. The main man pulling the strings behind the scenes is that moronic Ayatollah and his council of morons.

I feel sorry for Iran - an entire nation is held hostage by a cabal of extremists called Gaurdian Council.The orange dotted line below is the key aspect here.What a mockery of the democratic process.

 

[Markhor]

Rouhani way out in the lead. Good turnout of 80%.

The cleric has just over 51% of 23 million votes counted so far - well ahead of the next candidate, Tehran Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf.

Mr Rouhani could win in the first round if he finishes with more than 50%.

Turnout was estimated at 80% among the 50 million Iranians eligible to vote for a successor to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Officials at the election headquarters said that with more than 23,014,873 votes counted - 22,247,364 of them valid:

Hassan Rouhani has 11,754,013 (51.07%)

Mr Qalibaf is in second place with 3,494,938

Mohsen Rezai lies third with 2,723,202 followed by Saeed Jalili on 2,593,169.

 

[Black Zero]

The most sham exercise ever lol

Hundreds were barred because the Ayatollah didnt like them. Women wre not allowed lol

hundreds were barred even in pakistani elections...

however, i do not agree with the concept of oligarchy of supreme leaders...

 

[Markhor]

No run-off needed, the next President of Iran is Hassan Rouhani.

Election results

• Hassan Rouhani: 18,613,329
• Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf: 6,077,292
• Saeed Jalili: 4,168,946
• Mohsen Rezai: 3,884,412
• Ali Akbar Velayati: 2,268,753
• Mohammad Gharazi: 446,015

Votes cast: 36,704,156

 

[LooneyReturns]

Iranians I meet and know are all so liberal yet their country`s leaders are so conservative .

 

[Gabbar Singh]

Hassan Rouhani has won a second term.

Iran’s voters have given a strong backing to Hassan Rouhani in the country’s landmark election, winning a second four-year term to see out his agenda calling for greater freedoms and outreach to the wider world.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...ctory-second-term-ebrahim-raisi-a7745996.html

 

[90MPH]

Iranian Guardian council has far too much power in Iran.

 

[Saeed]

What's the point of having sham elections when there is a supreme leader?

According to Iran's Constitution, the Supreme Leader is responsible for the delineation and supervision of "the general policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran," which means that he sets the tone and direction of Iran's domestic and foreign policies. The Supreme Leader also is commander-in-chief of the armed forces and controls the Islamic Republic's intelligence and security operations; he alone can declare war or peace. He has the power to appoint and dismiss the leaders of the judiciary, the state radio and television networks, and the supreme commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. He also appoints six of the twelve members of the Council of Guardians, the powerful body that oversees the activities of Parliament and determines which candidates are qualified to run for public office.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/tehran/inside/govt.html
Ultimately he has the most power and his decisions matter. Rest of them are just Mamnoon Hussians.