Many of the country’s top officials have already cast their votes with the Leader of the Islamic Republic being the first. He urged the nation to go to the polls early. In response to remarks by a American National Security Council official, the leader stated that the Iranian nation would not be influenced by such remarks and that they would act according to their own beliefs and needs.

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Mohammad Reza Aref a reformist candidate in Iran’s upcoming presidential election announced his quit from the race in favor of the presidential candidate Hasan Rowhani who is strongly backed by Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

“I quit from the election race because Mr. Khatami advised me to do so,” a statement of Aref published in his website read.

“Mr. Aref will abide by any decision taken by Mohammad Katami,” said Hasan Rasouli, Aref’s spokesman in an interview with Iran’s View on Monday.

“The Advisory Council of the Reformists headed by Mohammad Khatami was in charge of choosing a single candidate for the party,” he said.

Meanwhile Mohammad Reza Aref has repeatedly said he “will stand in the election race till the end.” He has even sworn this morning to not quit the race.

A few days ago his spokesperson told Iran’s View that Reformists chose Aref as the candidate for the party.

But it seems Hasan Rowhani and his supporters were successful to make Aref quit the race.

Hasan Rowhani a former secretary of Iran’s National Security Council and currently an envoy to the supreme leader Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei on the council is backed by Hashemi Rafsanjani the former two-term president of the country.

Aref is backed by the former president Mohammad Khatami who is a leader of the Iranian reformists.

In recent weeks the Reformists front witnessed hot debates between Khatami and Rafsanjani on choosing a single candidate for the Reformists in the presidential election.

Aref didn’t even recognize Rowhani as a reformist. Rowhani once during Khatami’s presidency signed a letter that conservatives wrote against him. In other hand, Khatami and his inner circle believe Rowhani would prefer Hashemi’s interests to the reformists’ approaches.

Anyway the Reformists’ success to have a single candidate is the worst news for the Principalists who have three candidates for the presidential election.

The Principalists failed to form a coalition and choose a single candidate so far. Although Gholam Ali Hadad Adel quit the race on Monday in favor of “all principalists” but given his low performance in the different polls it will not help the Principalists to compete against a strong reformist rival.

The three Principalist candidates who are unlikely to quit in favor of each other are: Saeed Jalili Iran’s top nuclear negotiator, Tehran’s mayor Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and former foriegn minister Ali Akbar Velayati

According to the polls and latest analysis after the withdrawal of Aref, Hasan Rowhani will have more than 20% of the ballot and will be competing with the Principalists’ front-runner Ghalibaf who has about 25% of the ballot.

Political observers in Tehran believe if the Principalists fail to form a coalition, Hasan Rowhani will attract a significant percent of the votes and will compete against Ghalibaf in the run-off round.

Iranians will cast their votes in the presidential election on Friday June 14th. A run-off round is expected as none of six remaining candidates are likely to gain 50% of ballots in polls.

The post Unified Iranian Reformists Behind Rowhani The Worst News For Principalists first appeared on .

“In this meeting we are to clarify the procedures of the election [for the candidates] and to hear comments of the candidates,” said Kadkhodaei in a presser just before the meeting.

While the representative of Gholam Ali Hadad Adel was absent at today’s meeting. A few hours after the meeting Gholam Ali Hadad Adel issued a statement announcing his quit from the election race in favor of the “Prinipalist Candidates”. He didn’t mention name of any of the candidates.

The spokesman of the Guardian Council also denied the reports on the possibility of reconsidering qualifications of the reformist candidate Hasan Rowhani.

 Iranian Fars News Agency reported earlier today that the Guardian Council will reconsider Rowhani’s qualifications in an urgent meeting today.

“We may give notices to the candidates about some aspects of their campaigning but we not review the qualifications,” Kadkhodaei said.

At the beginning of the meeting, the represantatives of the candidates delivered a short statement about explaining their candidates’ stance on procedures of the election.

“I appreciate the Guardian Council,” said Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh, the representative of Rowhani, “It can avoid any misunderstanding if we the representatives of the candidates be present during sealing of ballot boxes,” he said.

The campaing manager of another reformist candidate, Mohammad Reza Aref also said they will be committed to the law in every step of the election.

“Our slogan is commitment to the law so we accept the role of the Guardian Council in vetting the qualifications and counting of the ballots,” he said.

Shahin Mohammad-Sadeghi a representative of Ali Akbar Velayati also said his candidate is committed to the law and will abide any decision by the Guardian Council.

Ali Bagheri the representative of Saeed Jalili also underlined the “important role of the Guardian Council in the last elections” and said: “This initiative by the Guardian Council to have closely interaction with the candidates shows the council has a serious approach [to have a fair election].”

Talking to the journalists, Bagheri denied the possibility of Jalili quitting on behalf of any other Principalist candidates.

“Saeed Jalili will not quit from the race. His popularity is boosting after the TV debates,” he said.

The representatives of Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Mohammad Gharazi and Mohsen Rezaei endorsed the role of the Guardian Council and wished a fair election with a high turn-out.

Iranians will cast their votes on behalf of one the 8 presidential candidates on June 14. 

The post Iran Election: Guardian Council Briefed Candidates While Adel Quits the Race first appeared on .

“Since Dr Jalili entered the election race his popularity rate has been on the rise. We think the rate would continue to rise until the election day,” said the spokesman of parliament’s National Security and foreign policy commission about Jalili’s popularity.

Responding to a question about the possibility of Jalili forming a coalition with other fundamentalist candidates (Ali Akbar Velayati, Gholam Ali Haddad-Adel, and Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf), Naghavi said Jalili has entered the race as an independent fundamentalist candidate and doesn’t represent any party or political group, adding that he will continue his independent way.

He said Jalili doesn’t feel any threat from the reformist and independent candidates, believing that he would win the election at the first round. “We don’t think about the run off voting or even the possibility of the victory of a reformist candidate at all.”

According to Naghavi, Jalili is more devoted to the discourse of the Islamic Revolution, compared to his rivals, as he believes in resistance against the west rather than compromise or submission.

Jalili also believes that religious democracy should be propounded in the world as a political system and that Iran should reduce its dependence on hegemonic systems.

Foreign groups and the enemies of Iran do not have a positive view towards Jalili, Naghavi explained further. “The hegemonic powers and the groups that have been in war with our nation since the beginning of the Islamic Revolution are frightened by Jalili’s candidacy and thus continue the character assassination against him.”

They however had a similar negative view towards Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during the tenth presidential election in Iran. Until then, Mr. Ahmadinejad seemed to take positions in accordance to the preferences of the head of the country but after winning the election he did things that suggested he was at odds with the supreme leader Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei. This has made some political activist think that Saeed Jalili might follow Ahmadinejad in this regard.

But Naghavi rejects this possibility.”Dr. Jalili believes the final word is the Leader’s; not based on the status that the constitution regards for Wilayat al Faqih (the guardianship of the jurist), but because of his personal belief and faith.”

The head of Saeed Jalili’s presidential campaign in Tehran also rejected the claims about Jalili being “the government’s candidate”, arguing, “In the seventh presidential election similarly many claimed that Nategh Noori was the government’s candidate but people voted for Mohammad Khatami and he became the president for two terms. Today also the government considers all of the candidates approved by the Guardian Council suitable for presidency and it is the people who should vote and elect the best candidate as president.”

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An analysis based on the results of three surveys conducted by three reliable Iranian polling centers shows that none of Iran’s presidential candidates would gain enough votes to win outright on the first ballot.

More than 50 million Iranians will head to the polls on June 14th to determine Iran’s next president. Iran’s Guardian Council has approved eight candidates to compete in the poll. If no candidate wins more than 50% of the vote a runoff is scheduled to be held a week later.

According to the Analysis seen by Iran’sView, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, mayor of Tehran and a Principalist candidate, would win almost 27% of the votes and would be one of two competitors in any run off and the second competitor would be either Saeed Jalili, Iran’s top nuclear negotiator or Ali Akbar Velayati a top advisor to the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei.

11.7% of voters surveyed decided to vote in favor of Saeed Jalili and 11.3% for Ali Akbar Velayati, both Principalist candidates.

A similar survey conducted in the 2009 presidential elections gave accurate results.

This poll was carried out in late April on more than 400,000 people in 31 provinces throughout Iran.

More than 51% of eligible voters have decided to participate in the presidential elections. One out of five voters surveyed said they chose not to participate in the elections.

More than 56% of voters said they will vote for one of the four Principalist candidates.

Beside, Ghalibaf, Jalili and Velayati,  Gholam Ali Hadad-Adel, another Principalist candidate would gain 6.7%, Mohsen Rezaei and  Mohammad Gharazi two independent candidates would have respectively 6.7% and 0.7% of the ballots.

Of Iran’s two candidates in the Reformists camp 5.6% of voters surveyed said they would vote for Mohammad Reza Aref and 3.1% would vote for Hassan Rowhani.

 Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the former two-term president of Iran was the most popular candidate associated with the reformists but he was disqualified by Iran’s Guardian Council due to his old age and therefore his inability to take the responsibility of being president.

The results of the surveys have not been publicized so far, but Iran’sView received an analysis paper based on the three reliable surveys.

The post Iran’s Election: Poll Results Suggest a 50% turnout and A Run Off Voting first appeared on .

The 78 year old politician, who entered with much hype and went away silently, caused a unity among Pincipalists at first, but his withdrawal created division.

They don’t think of Mohammad Reza Aref, Mohsen Rezaei, Hasan Rowhani and Mohammad Gharazi as serious opponents, so they don’t feel the need for unity.

Four Pincipalist candidates are Ali Akbar Velayati, Muhammad Baqer Qalibaf and Haddad Adel who are three members of the Progressive Coalition or the Coalition of 2+1 who seem to be open to Saeed Jalili joining them.

The members of the Progressive Coalition were supposed to reach a consensus on one candidate, based on polls and surveys. But even 20 days after the agreement, no one stood aside for the sake of the other two.

Ali Akbar Velayati

Velayati, an advisor to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei on International affairs, recently said “the three members of the coalition will keep campaigning and at a point before the voting day on June 14, we will decide who is going to be the final candidate.

He also said the decision by the Combatant Clergy Association and the Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom (two highly influential clergy institutions in Iran) is highly capable of choosing the final candidate.

“The exact time of announcing the chosen candidate is not clear and depends on the coalition’s decision. Debates and talks will be held and they will decide by popularity, legitimacy and efficiency,” Shahin Mohammad Sadeghi, MP and the head of Velayati’s presidential campaign told Iran’sView.

He reiterated that the polls and surveys are just as important as the decision by the two important clergy institutions.

“Jalili’s involvement in the Progressive coalition is also relying on the decision by the coalition members. But the whole Principalist party is trying to reach an accord based on the decision of aforementioned institutions and public popularity,” he said.

Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf

Yet Qalibaf is not a fan of this idea. Because even though recent polls put him above Velayati and Haddad Adel, he will not have a chance with the two clergy institutions.

Gholam Ali Haddad Adel

Haddad Adel, former Speaker of the Majlis, said on Wednesday, “We think of Jalili as a Pincipalist and in case he joins our Progressive coalition only one of us will stand for presidency.”

Like Velayati, he believes in the final decision by the two clergy institutions, but “We also consider polls and we have to wait for the TV debates to assess the real outcome.”

It is not clear whether the coalition of 2+1will turn into 4, but Jalili hasn’t responded to the invitation by the coalition.

Saeed Jalili is known for being the chief nuclear negotiator among the public and has more votes from the Pincipalist party and other tough defenders of nuclear rights.

Head of the Hadad Adel presidential campaign, Hossein Nejabat has a different view from Sadeghi.

“When Mr.Velayati said [all members of the coalition] will campaign separately until the end, he did not mean campaigning until the voting day, but it might be the 6th or 7th of June,” he said in an interview with Iran’sView.

“The polls are taken one week before the election and will decide the fate of the progressive coalition. In fact, the coalition thinks public opinion is not shaped yet. They are waiting for the TV campaigns to decide on the final candidate. It is definite that three of them will not seek a spot on the ballot,” Nejabat said.

Nejabat also thinks differently about the decision of the two clergy institutions.

“Those institutions will not meddle in the election or decide on the final candidate,” he said, but “It is very important for the coalition that senior clerics are not against the final candidate so they are trying to be on the same path as them.”

He also denies inviting Jalili and says Hadad Adel did not invite him directly.

“A group of students asked Dr. Adel if he will accept Jalili as a member of the coalition if he stands for candidacy. Adel answered, if Jalili attracts a significant amount of voters we will consider his participation.”

Saeed Jalili

Bagheri Lankarani and Alireza Zakani withdrawal has boosted Jalili’s votes and gained him popularity but it seems that Jalili is not that willing to join the “Progressive Coalition”.

He is characterized by his firm stance on foreign policy, avoiding huge campaign expenditures and distancing himself from secular parts of society. This has distinguished him from other coalition members, especially Qalibaf.

Qalibaf and Velayati to some extent are not cynical about figures like Hashemi but Jalili is.

Even though he is more like Adel, because of his differences with Qalibaf, it is less likely that he will join the progressive coalition and this division will work for the benefit of the reformists.

If Qalibaf is to be the final candidate, many of Velayati and Adel supporters will abandon Qalibaf. Becuase Adel and Velayati to seem to think closer to Jalili.

We have to see if the possibility of the victory of the two independent candidates (Mohsen Reza’ei and Mohammad Gharazi) or the two Reformist candidates (Aref and Rowhani) will convince the Pinricpalists to set their differences aside or the elections will become more volite.

The post Iran’s Election: Principalists In Disarray After Hashemi Disqualified first appeared on .

Saeed Jalili, Gholam-Ali Hadad Adel, Mohsen Rezaei, Hasan Rowhani, Mohammad-Reza Aref, Mohammad Gharazi, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Ali Akbar Velayati vetted by the Guardian Council and are official candidates for upcoming presidential election.

While Earlier today, Hasanali Nouri, head of the election desk of the interior ministry said in an interview with Iranian Nasim news agency that the list of qualified candidates will be announced on Wednesday, the interior ministry suddenly issued a statement on Thursday night and announced the list.

Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei are not in the list of qualified candidates.

“I didn’t wanted to register for candidacy till last moments, I entered the race to serve the country and will do my best for the development of Iran and revolution till I’m alive,” Hashemi Rafsanjani, a former two-term president said in a meeting with a group of lawyers and university professors today.

Mashaei, the controversial aide of the president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also said to journalists today that he believe that he can be qualified and if the Guardian Council deny him, he will appeal in a legal procedure.

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Kadkhoda’ei said on Sunday in an interview with an Arabic-language news Channel of Iran, Alalam, that those who are only able to work a couple of hours a day are not suitable for a high ranking executive post. He also said, it’s possible that we consider physical health as a factor in our assessment, but it hasn’t been discussed so far.

Although he didn’t mention a specific person, his words were targeting Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, and this made his supporters concerned. They knew about his old age, but they were counting on his influence and political experience.

Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, 78, has already been a President for 8 years. But the Guardian Council may prevent him becoming a President for the 3rd time.

On registration day, Hashemi said that he would respect the Guardian Council’s decision. So if he gets disqualified, he should act accordingly even though the Reformists would lose the hope they had gained with Hashemi’s candidacy.

The Reformists’ front will scatter between Muhammad Reza Aref, Hassan Rowhani, Mohammad Shariatmadari, Masoud Pezeshkian, Mostafa Kavakebian and some other lesser known characters, of-course if they have chance to get qualified. Some reformists also will boycott the election without Hashemi in the race.

Eshaq Jahangiri didn’t register in time, so all eyes are on Aref. Maybe Hashemi’s rejection would make Aref even happier than the Principalists.

Mohammad Reza Aref 62, has been VP in the Khatami administration for 7 years. Despite the fact that he’s seen as an experienced figure, he couldn’t gain the support of some Reformist groups.

Hassan Rowhani’s situation is no better. He’s known as Hashemi’s representative, but he only has a small support from moderate Reformists and some politicians don’t even consider him as a Reformist.

Pezeshkian, a Minister in the Hashemi administration is not expected to gain a significant following.

The Reformists tough days are exasperated with unity among their opponents in the Principalists front. In the Principalists front Ali Akbar Aboutorabi announced his withdrawal. Some hours later, Bagheri Lankarani and a bit later Alireza Zakani withdrew in favor of Saeed Jalili, Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator.

A lot of speculations around the political spectrum hinted Gholam-Ali Haddad Adel and Ali Akbar Velayati’s might withdraw in favor of Jalili, so the so called “Resistance against Sanctions” front would test the waters in the coming election.

With Hashemi’s rejection unless they compromise on a single candidate the Reformists will face a failure. Although even a single candidate couldn’t get the majority of Reformists’s votes.

Hashemi released his third election manifesto in which he said, for political impact, every political party should be present in the election. His words are interpreted as a reaction to the possible decision of the Guardian Council.

If the Guardian Council ignore Hashemi’s old age, we should expect different scenarios and the Reformists chance of victory will increase.

*Abdullah Almasi is the Editor in Chief of Iranian Jahannews.com news website.

The post What Will Happen To The Reformists if Hashemi Rafsanjani Gets Disqualified? first appeared on .

Saeed Jalili and Kamran Bagheri Lankarani two principalist presidential candidate met this afternoon in Jalili’s office.

After the meeting, Lankarani, who is backed by Ayatollah Mohammad-Taghi Mesbah-Yazdi, issued a statement calling for unity between principalist candidates.

After Iran’s top nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili registered for the upcoming Iran’s presidential election, Lankarani said in an interview that there is no difference between their stance and only one of them will stay in the presidential race.

Political analysts believe that the principlist candidates will show more unity to boost their chance of winning the race.

Afkar, a news website close to Alireza Zakani, a pricipalist presidential hopeful also reported that he likely will withdraw in favor of Jalili tomorrow.

Ali-Akbar Velayati and Gholam-Ali Hadad Adel, two presidential hopeful and members of Coalition of 2+1 Iran’s presidential hopeful also said after Jalili’s registration that it is likely for the principlist candidates to unite around the country’s chief nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, in the upcoming presidential election.

The post Lankarani Withdraws to Make Jalili the Frontrunner for Principalist Candidate first appeared on .

The statement of Kadkhodaei could be a warning for the 78 year old two-term former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani whom his old age has been the target of criticism by his rivals and authorities.

“Hashemi Rafsanjani does not have energy to run the country,” said Gholam-Ali Hadad Adel a member of the Coalition of 2+1 and a former speaker of Iran’s Majlis.

“If I were Hashemi’s age, I would not run for president,” he said.

“Usually people with old age have their jobs done by people around them. In the case of Mr. Hashemi this is not possible because they have spent some time abroad and cannot be trusted,” said Mohammad Dehqan a member of Majlis Board of Directors.

Kadkhodaei reiterating the Guardian Council “has not any fear to disqualify outlaws” said on Sunday in an interview with Iran’s Arabic-language news Channel, Alalam : “If a candidate is able to work only several hours each day, cannot be qualified.”

“If a candidate’s belief to the principals of the Islamic Republic is undermined by his past activities, he should not expect the Guardian Council to approve him,” he said.

All Principalists would go behind of Saeed Jalili

Presidential candidate and 2+1 Coalition member Gholam-Ali Haddad Adel said “If Saeed Jalili can create an atmosphere like what Ahmadinejad created in 2005, We all should go behind him.”

Speaking to the campaigners of the coalition he also expressed his worry that the upcoming presidential election would bring conflict to the country.

Three Iranian presidential hopefuls have dropped their bid for the June 14 presidential election.

Former Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast issued a statement on Sunday saying he is no longer in the presidential race.

Davoud Ahmadinejad, the elder brother of incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, also withdraw in favor of the a Principalist candidate and the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Saeed Jalili.

Mohammad Hassan Bautorabi-Fard, MP and the Candidate of the Coalition of Five issued a statement today saying he withdraw from the election race.

Some political analysis believe that the quitted candidates were informed of their disqualification in the Guardian Council, so they preferred to quit the race before the council announce the list of denied candidates.

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