Who step ahead in presidential elections in Iran?

Registration on May 11 of the ?urrent general secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Saeed Jalili, advisor for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and father-in-law of his son, Isfandiar Rahim Mashaei and Iran's former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani as candidates for the presidency made the Presidential elections more interesting, but at the same time more complicated.

Nomination of these politicians caused solidarity in the Reformist opposition camp and in the front supporting Ahmadinejad. The move also raised controversy and contradictions in the conservative camp.

Solidarity of reformists

Reformists, agreeing to unite behind former President Hashemi Rafsanjani, will be lavish with support in this area. Thus, Iran's former president and the leader reformist Mohammad Khatami called on everyone to support Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and vote for him in the election. In addition, policy-reformists and presidential candidates Mohammed Shariatmadari and Mohammad Reza Arif withdrew in favor of Hashemi Rafsanjani. Another candidate, the secretary general of the Democratic Party, Mustafa Kavakibian said if the party decides, he would also withdraw his candidacy in favor of Rafsanjani.

The presidential candidate and one of the closest to Hashemi Rafsanjani, chairman of the Center for Strategic Research of the Advisory Council and former secretary general of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Hassan Rouhani said one of the two will win the elections.
"Based on negotiations with Rafsanjani, either him or I will win," he said.

Although, Rafsanjani has previously adhered to the views of the right, he had left wing tendencies as well. He has lit the "green light" for both the right and the left, and they support him.

Disagreement on a single candidate from the Conservative

There are already signs showing that the conservative camp can not come to an agreement on a single candidate. Kamran Bagheri Lankaran from the Front of Stability of the Islamic Revolution ofthe conservative camp ("Usulgara") said yesterday in his speech that the upcoming elections will not be bipolar, the Conservatives will not come to an agreement on a single candidate, and each candidate will join the election with his own program.

'The Front of Islamic Revolution Stability is considered a wing of Usulgara camp along with Kamran Bagheri Lankarani and supports the candidacy of the Secretary General of the Supreme National Security Council Saeed Jalili. Moreover, '2 +1' or 'triple coalition' established in December 2012 by three well-known representatives of 'Usulgara' camp: former Speaker of the Iranian Parliament Gulamali Haddad Adil, Advisor on International Affairs of the Supreme Leader Ali Akbar Velayati and ex- Commander of the Iranian police, current mayor of Tehran Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, is close to the split.

Members of this coalition said earlier that two of the candidates will withdraw their candidacy in favor of the one who will gain more votes. But now they say that along with the vote results, say that the decision of The Combatant Clergy Association and the Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom also plays a big role in whom they will support at the end of the voting. Two members of the coalition said they will respect the decision of these two associations. However Ghalibaf noted that a coalition is out of the question.

A similar situation shaped in the second conservative coalition. Thus, although Mohammed Hasan Abuturabi Fardeen supported by the Front of the Followers of the Line of the Imam and the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, which includes 14 political parties, was nominated for first vice-speaker of the Iranian Parliament, another member of this front, Ahmadinejad did not support the decision of the front saying that as a result of a survey conducted in the government, the first place was taken by Manouchehr Mottaki.

The candidate supported by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Despite the fact that the arrival of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with his son's father-in-law and advisor Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei at the Interior Ministry for registration was strongly criticized by most conservatives, the camp's solidarity in respect of this candidate supported by Ahmadinejad increased even more. Recently, several prominent politicians including presidential adviser Ali Akbar Javanfekr, vice president Mohamed Reza Rahimi and others withdrew their candidacies in favor of Mashaei.

Due to some controversial statements and actions made by Masha from the beginning of his operation with Ahmadinejad, to date, he has faced criticism of traditional conservatives and religious scholars of Iran. Criticism of people who consider music a sin, statements on a possible friendship between Iranian and Israeli peoples are among Mashaei's most controversial statements.


Temkin Jafarov   /Trend/