Poll unlikely to change Iran nuclear stance
20:33 - 5 March 2012
If the West thinks that the upcoming Iranian elections will provide the world with a new face of Iran they can think again.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khameini is set to clinch absolute power and since relations between him and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad are fractured, no stone will be left unturned in what is likely to be a battle of attrition.
The outcome of tomorrow\'s polls will have done little, or nothing, to change Iran\'s stance over its nuclear programme, or its foreign policy, despite the fact that harsher sanctions are looming to cripple the economy further, with a military face-off being the final card thrown on the table but it could clip the president\'s wings.
On the face of it, reformists have no part to play in the scheme of things: they are being eased out of the picture — irrespective of whether they have announced their candidature or not — by an alliance of clerics, conservatives, notorious Revolutionary Guards and businessman.
If the results hold in Khameini\'s favour, any chance of a compromise in the nuclear dispute with the West will have evaporated. This is not good for the people of Iran who have started to bear the brunt of the government\'s rigid policies which have been reflected on an economy that is slowly grinding to a halt.
Having served for two terms already, and with the shadow of a corruption scandal hanging over his head, Ahmadinejad may be out of the picture during the presidential polls next year, but the process of rendering him politically impotent has already been put into motion.
Friday\'s elections should provide ample evidence of that fact as observers analyse every move. Transparency will be the key component lacking in these polls and in that respect the proceedings will be a useless exercise. What is important is what could follow after the political landscape has been altered.
Source – gulfnews.com
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khameini is set to clinch absolute power and since relations between him and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad are fractured, no stone will be left unturned in what is likely to be a battle of attrition.
The outcome of tomorrow\'s polls will have done little, or nothing, to change Iran\'s stance over its nuclear programme, or its foreign policy, despite the fact that harsher sanctions are looming to cripple the economy further, with a military face-off being the final card thrown on the table but it could clip the president\'s wings.
On the face of it, reformists have no part to play in the scheme of things: they are being eased out of the picture — irrespective of whether they have announced their candidature or not — by an alliance of clerics, conservatives, notorious Revolutionary Guards and businessman.
If the results hold in Khameini\'s favour, any chance of a compromise in the nuclear dispute with the West will have evaporated. This is not good for the people of Iran who have started to bear the brunt of the government\'s rigid policies which have been reflected on an economy that is slowly grinding to a halt.
Having served for two terms already, and with the shadow of a corruption scandal hanging over his head, Ahmadinejad may be out of the picture during the presidential polls next year, but the process of rendering him politically impotent has already been put into motion.
Friday\'s elections should provide ample evidence of that fact as observers analyse every move. Transparency will be the key component lacking in these polls and in that respect the proceedings will be a useless exercise. What is important is what could follow after the political landscape has been altered.
Source – gulfnews.com
