Tehran ditches election 'headache' Rafsanjani скачать в хорошем качестве

Tehran ditches election 'headache' Rafsanjani

Iran's most senior clerical authorities have ruled out the one candidate who might have been elected president who could have led reformists: Hashemi Rafsanjani. Not everyone was surprised, but some of the electorate are furious. Euronews, the most watched news channel in Europe Subscribe for your daily dose of international news, curated and explained:http://eurone.ws/10ZCK4a Euronews is available in 12 other languages: http://eurone.ws/17moBCU The election is three weeks away. The powerful Guardian Council of the Constitution have shortlisted eight figures who will be allowed to run for office in the presidential elections. Most are loyal to the conservative Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Only two of them are pro-reform figures. The line-up risks alienating voters already disillusioned by the violent aftermath of the 2009 poll. Rafsanjani, now 78, earned hardliners' wrath at the time for criticising authorities' treatment of protesters. His advanced age may be seen as an impediment to his continuing a political career, said conservative journalist Emad Abshenas: "The reason the Guardian Council barred him is that he is very old. The presidency requires a high level of activity." Reformist journalist Alireza Khamesian said: "Rafsanjani registering as a candidate at the last minute upset many political factions and ruined their plans." Outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's 2009 victory claim, in a vote his opponents said was rigged, triggered spontaneous protests and violent repression, severely damaging the ruling system's credentials. Rafsanjani's response was: "The important thing is to regain people's confidence, which brought a huge number of them to the scene; today it has been a bit damaged. This should be our sacred objective: it is not necessary in the current circumstances to keep some people in prison for alleged activities. They should be allowed to rejoin their families." Rafsanjani was Speaker of Parliament for nine years. Then, from 1989-1997, he was President of Iran, alongside Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He is also known as one of Iran's richest men, with wide-reaching contacts. In 2005, he made a bid to return to the presidency but was decisively beaten by the conservative Ahmadinejad. It was his biggest defeat. This time, supporters hoped he'd come back to save the economy, and to stop the downward slide in foreign relations with the US, the EU and powerful Arab countries. But the clerics have had a turbulent eight years with Ahmadinejad. They want a president who will go along with them.