Iran’s 2013 presidential election is now a competition between one centrist candidate and five conservative candidates; the pro-reform candidate, Mohammad Reza Aref, pulled out of this week’s presidential election on Tuesday in order to rally behind Hassan Rowhani, the centrist whose campaign has gained momentum in the last few weeks and who former candidate Hashemi Rafsanjani has also announced his endorsement for. In addition, another recent and significant development for the reformists includes Mohammad Khatami’s efforts in mobilizing votes for the centrist Rohani.
This presidential race marks Iran’s first election since 2009, when the reformists led by Khatami and Mir Hussein Mosavi disputed the re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Another recent and crucial development adding momentum to Rohani’s campaign is winning the official endorsement of Khatami and Mosavi’s advisory council this week on Monday. As a result, elections raise major questions surrounding who is more likely to face Rohani, a former nuclear negotiator, in the elections. Moreover, and more fundamentally, who would be announced as Iran’s 7th president since the foundation of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979?
source: alarabiya
Tags: Iran election 2013, principlist, reformist
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