Iranian Presidential Elections Set for June 12

By The Media Line Staff

The 10th presidential elections since the 1979 Islamic revolution will take place in Iran on June 12, 2009, head of the Elections Committee 'Ali Riza Afshar announced on Sunday.The leading candidate is none other than current president, Mahmoud Ahmadi Nejad, who enjoys the support of the Islamic Republic's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah 'Ali Khamanai.

"You may consider yourself in power for five more years," Khamanai told Ahmadi Nejad a few weeks ago, during the Beijing Olympic Games. "Khamanai's words feel to me like a gold medal on my chest," Ahmadi Nejad said in response to the much-needed show of support from the number one figure in Iranian politics.

While the Iranian president's feud with the West regarding his country's nuclear program is widely reported in the Western media, as well as in Iran, analysts are suggesting that the election campaign, in particular that of Ahmadi Nejad's rivals, would revolve around the latter's failed economic policies.

Rising inflation in the world's fourth-largest oil exporter - currently standing at 27.6 percent - is a major concern for the Iranian people, maybe even more than a possible military strike against their country's nuclear facilities. Not helping Ahmadi Nejad's popularity in the street, July reports indicated that electricity prices might increase fivefold beginning from September 22, which marks the beginning of the second half of the Iranian year.

Iranian officials blamed the people for wasting electricity, the price of which is subsidized. Ahmadi Nejad explained the country's power plants were struggling to keep pace with the rising demand and that was why the authorities had to resort to daily power cuts in several major cities. Meanwhile, the president, who has not yet announced his nomination for a second term, is assessing his potential rivals, both from the polarized reformist camp, and from his own conservative camp.

One of the leading potential candidates is 'Ali Larijani, the former chief nuclear negotiator, who was elected as parliament speaker last May. Larijani, a close ally and foreign policy consultant of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah 'Ali Khamanai, won a landslide victory in the parliamentary vote, leaving behind Ahmadi Nejad's favorite, former speaker Ghoulam 'Ali Hadad 'Adil.

Larijani served as chief nuclear negotiator until late 2005, when he resigned over differences of opinion with the president's non-compromising hard line view regarding the nuclear program. The massive support Larijani enjoys within Iran's parliament and the Guardian Council, combined with his powerful position as parliament speaker, has boosted his chances as an obvious candidate for next year's presidential election.

Larijani's election just over three months ago sent a warning to Ahmadi Nejad that there are other conservative forces jockeying for the presidency, and that the president was no longer able to ride the conservative wave, an Iranian expert told The Media Line.

Another conservative rival is the popular governor of Tehran, Muhammad Baqir Qalibaf. The reformist camp may not present a strong candidate, because - similar to the last presidential elections - it cannot unite behind one figure. If nothing changes over the next few months, Iranians who support the reformist camp will have to choose among former president Muhammad Khatami, former interior minister 'Abdallah Nouri and former parliament speaker 'Ali Karoubi.

A recent report indicated that Khatami lost the nomination of his party to Nouri, but political analysts were not quick to dismiss him as a possible candidate.

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