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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Ex-Revolutionary Guards chief to run in Iran vote |
| 2009-05-09 |
| [Al Arabiya Latest] A former head of the elite Revolutionary Guards on Friday became the most prominent figure so far to register as a candidate in Iran's June presidential election just hours before incumbent president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, registered. Mohsen Rezaie, a conservative who is now secretary of the powerful Expediency Council arbitration body, said the economy of the world's fifth-largest oil exporter needed "fundamental change" and advocated a broad based government of experts. Even though he is well-known in Iran after a long career as Guards commander, analysts don't expect him to be among the frontrunners in the June 12 vote, in which Ahmadinejad will seek a second four-year term. Moderate politician Mirhossein Mousavi, a former prime minister, is expected to be the incumbent's main challenger but was yet to officially register as a candidate at the Interior Ministry registration center in Tehran. Candidates have until Saturday to register, after which they will be vetted by the Guardian Council, which has strict moral and other criteria, requiring them to be established statesmen. In the last vote in 2005, only about 10 were cleared. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 The fault, dear Brutus, lies not in our stars, but in |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2009-05-09 19:30 |
| #1 Rezaie sounds like he's Ayatollah Khameni's shot across Ahmadinejad's bow. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2009-05-09 17:43 |