Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Iranian Election Push


Source: CNN



The sidewalks of Iran's capital are jammed with political rallies, just days before the Islamic republic decides on its next president.

A sea of green identifies the massive rally for reformist candidate Mir Hossein Moussavi, who is hoping to unseat hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Moussavi has rallied Iran's younger voters, many of whom just want Ahmadinejad out of office.

"This is like a revolution, people are excited about rescuing our country from a calamity it's been in for the last four years," says Pega, a Moussavi supporter who dons a green headband under her black headscarf.

Voters will head to the polls on Friday.

On the opposite street, Ahmadinejad's supporters, who are mostly traditional and overwhelmingly religious, wave pictures of the incumbent president as honking cars pass through the dueling sidewalk rallies. Many have been bused in to counter the ever-growing Moussavi crowds.

The Iranian president still has staunch support especially among the poor in the provinces to whom he has doled out money, benefits and favors.

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Sounds like the young, the rich and the women are on Moussavi's side while the rest thing everything is great and want more Ahmadinejad. The opposition will always promise more freedoms. Whether they can deliver when elected is another issue.

Do you think a new President will change Iran's relations with the rest of the world?

1 comment:

Roger Williams said...

It doesn't matter. The only thing the "President" of Iran can do is enact the policy decisions made the Grand Ayatollah (ie, the Supreme Leader, Ali Khameini). He has no political will or decision making ability on his own, and can not, in any practical way, even voice a political opinion that would contravene a decision by the Supreme Leader. He's a glorified puppet.