Moderate cleric Hasan Rohani
| Nb: this particular use of the word moderate means moderate for those vetted by the ruling mullahcracy, and therefore not moderate at all, but perhaps not as extreme as some others vetted by the self-same mullahcracy. |
was declared Iran's new president on Saturday, the interior minister said, in an outright election victory that ends eight years of conservative
grip on the top office.
Rohani hailed his election as a "victory of moderation over extremism", media reported. "This victory is a victory for wisdom, moderation and maturity... over extremism," said the mid-ranking moderate cleric who was also backed by reformists.
| Cute. Cleric Rohani is very, very cute. Hopefully this will protect him more than the last "moderate" cleric at that level, who as I recall has been under house arrest for several years, though perhaps I misremember. |
Rohani, 64, a former top nuclear negotiator who has championed more constructive engagement with world powers,
| Translation: "Taqiyah. Ever more taqiyah instead of openly defying the world while we continue working toward our nuclear Israel-destroyers." |
won outright with 18.6 million votes, or 50.68 per cent of those cast. Announcing Rohani's win, Interior Minister Mohammad Mostafa Najjar said 36.7 million people, or 72.7 per cent of the electorate, had voted on Friday.
Rohani's tally was enough to ensure there would be no run-off against the runner-up, Tehran Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, who was in distant second place with 6.07 million votes. Current nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, was third with 3.17 million.
Rohani inherits an economy that has been badly hit by EU and US sanctions targeting the key oil and banking sectors.
| Which doesn't mean he'll listen to sense... |
| If he didn't agree with the same rulers who held power throughout President Ahmadinejad's administration, he would not have been vetted. Nothing important will change, regardless of who is elected. |
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