Iran moderate wins presidential election

[Kuya]

Moderate cleric Hassan Rouhani has called his defeat of conservative hardliners a victory of moderation over extremism and pledged a new tone of respect in international affairs.

Thousands of jubilant Iranians poured onto the streets in celebration of the victory on Saturday, chanting: "Long live reform! Long live Rouhani!", according to witnesses at the scene.

"Ahmadi, bye bye!" they added in reference to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - who was legally barred from seeking a third consecutive term.

Many were dressed in purple, Rouhani's campaign colour, and others in
green, the colour of the reformist movement.

Rouhani will take up the presidency, the highest elected office in Iran's hybrid clerical-republican system, in August.

"This victory is a victory of wisdom, a victory of moderation, a victory of growth and awareness and a victory of commitment over extremism and ill-temper," Rouhani told state television, promising to work for all Iranians, including the
hardline so-called "Principlists" whom he defeated at the poll.

"I warmly shake the hands of all moderates, reformists and Principlists," he said.

Rouhani is a former top nuclear negotiator who has championed more constructive engagement with world powers.

He won outright against five conservative candidates with 18.6 million votes, Interior Minister Mohammad Mostafa Najjar said.

That was enough to ensure there would be no run-off against the runner-up, Tehran mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, who came a distant second with 6.07 million votes.

Saeed Jalili, Iran's Chief nuclear negotiator received four million votes and Mohsen Rezaei, a former head of the elite Revolutionary Guard, was also backed by close to 4 million people.

Matters of national security remain the domain of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but the president runs the economy and wields broad influence in decision-making in other spheres.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middle...312748181.html

[Tajin]

Good for Iran's economy, doesnt seem they will stop developing nuclear whatever from the last bolded part though.

[Andalusian girls]

symbolically nice to see the populace turn out for a moderate, but the clerical establishment still retains absolute authority in the nation. they decide who can and cannot in the elections, maintain total control over the military as well as diplomatic + judicial spheres, and have the ability to limit the president's control over the economy.

Rouhani sure beats Ahmadinejad as far as figureheads go, but he does have a long history of service in Iran's defense apparatus and it must be remembered Khomeini and his clerics approved his candidacy, one of the 8 they approved out of 680 applicants. he's probably not the clerics' first choice but he's also not not some radical reformist who will significantly alter the status quo.

[BaneTheBrawler]

maybe not but i know if i were israel i'd be a little reassured now that there's not someone in office screaming about how my nation needs to be destroyed. so maybe it will reduce tensions all around.

[Mazmaz]

Doesn't mean shit at all. They didn't let Rafsanjani run, and he was even less moderate than Khatami was. If Rouhani was approved, then that means he's not going to do anything different at all.

Also

Khomeini

khamenei

[Andalusian girls]

i preferred Khomeini

[Khajit]

maybe not but i know if i were israel i'd be a little reassured now that there's not someone in office screaming about how my nation needs to be destroyed. so maybe it will reduce tensions all around.

That was a false translation handled by ISRAELI translators. There was never any statement saying Israel should be destroyed at any point in time and the guy didn't even have the authority to attack them in the first place if he actually did want to try..

[BaneTheBrawler]

that wasn't really the point I was making. The ayatollah let this new guy run, which means he's got approval. he's also more moderate. which means that, on some level, they actually approve of that. you don't gear your nation up for war by having a spokesman talk about how you just need to play ball.

[Mazmaz]

lol no it does not mean they approve of being moderate. It means they're giving the people the tiniest amount of compromise so the population doesn't rise up and try to slay them again (and get slaughtered trying).

[BaneTheBrawler]

the best way to get someone to do what you want is to offer them a few choices, all of which are acceptable to you. with a system like that, they're not going to let someone run who isn't acceptable.

[ringthree]

Doesn't mean shit at all. They didn't let Rafsanjani run, and he was even less moderate than Khatami was. If Rouhani was approved, then that means he's not going to do anything different at all.

Also

khamenei

You are never going to win trying to translate Persian names.

[Kuya]

But the same is true in America. It's just that instead of a bureaucracy deciding who gets to run, you get a whole slew of other factors: political parties, donors, media.

[ringthree]

That was a false translation handled by ISRAELI translators. There was never any statement saying Israel should be destroyed at any point in time and the guy didn't even have the authority to attack them in the first place if he actually did want to try..

Actually, it was a poor translation by the Iranian translators. And it wasn't THAT wrong, because Ahmadinejad said Israel needed to be "removed from the page of history", which really isn't much better. And there is debate in Iran about what Ahmadinejad meant, and initially Ahmadinejad supported the English idiom translation.

And this whole thing is a complete dodge anyway.

[Ashmada]

Doesn't really matter who the ayatollah's new puppet is, tbh.

[archibaldcrane]

I think having a president who calls Israel "Israel" and not "that zionist entity" and expresses a desire to "heal the wound" of non-existent diplomatic ties with the US is important progress.

[BaneTheBrawler]

But the same is true in America. It's just that instead of a bureaucracy deciding who gets to run, you get a whole slew of other factors: political parties, donors, media.

yeah. and?

[Kuya]

Oh, i'm sorry. I guess you didn't see the period that signifies the end of the sentence.

[BaneTheBrawler]

no, i was just wondering if you had any particular reason for pointing that out.

[Kuya]

Yes

[ringthree]

I think having a president who calls Israel "Israel" and not "that zionist entity" and expresses a desire to "heal the wound" of non-existent diplomatic ties with the US is important progress.

It more signals that the Ayatollahs are worried about their power if the population of Iran gets any more pissed. The fact that they allowed this guy to get elected is the signal, not the guy himself.