There will be no campaigning today on the streets of Iran. As in past, campaigning is banned the day before elections, which are scheduled for Friday. With two distinctly different candidates the campaign has revealed a desire for change among the country’s youth.
Former PM (1980-1988) Mir Hossein Mousavi has proven to be the strongest opponent to incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. A reformer, Mousavi has gained widespread support amongst Iran’s youth, a significant accomplishment in a country where the median age is 27.
Mousavi’s popularity is due in part to his stated commitment to civil rights. Throughout the campaign he has promised to amend the "discriminatory and unjust regulations" that leave women subject to violence and oppression. Newsy.com has more:
The competitive campaign has seen vitriol on both sides and analysts are predicting that neither candidate will receive enough votes to win the first round of elections.
President Ahmadinejad has gone so far as to accuse Mousavi of using “the tactics of Hitler”, arguing that his opponent is spreading lies about the state of the economy; an issue that has been a huge weakness for the president.
Meanwhile, Mousavi’s wife has threatened to sue Ahmadinejad for claiming that her doctorate was won from class privilege and is therefore illegitimate.
The U.S. has had little to say about the election. Former U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns argues, “The election on Friday is going to be consequential in the sense that the candidates are clearly different in ideology and style -- and there seems to be a stronger reformist element in Iranian politics ".
Political parties don’t last long in Iran, often banding together before elections then disbanding shortly after the elections end. However, a coalition of reform groups have been gaining support since 2000, another indication of a popular shift in ideology which bodes well for Mousavi. However, Ahmadinejad is expected to retain the support of the military, state owned media, and government insiders.
Both candidates support continued construction on nuclear energy facilities, a point of contention between the U.S. and Iran. Though he was PM during the Iran-Iraq War Mousavi does not have the diplomatic baggage that has been an albatross to Ahmadinejad. Critics within the country take issue with Ahmadinejad’s approach to foreign policy, which has been seen as hostile in the west.
It is unclear whether or not the U.S. would have a different approach to bilateral relations if Ahmadinejad were to be ousted. The BBC reports that if Mousavi were to win, President Ahmadinejad would become the first president to be defeated at the polls since the foundation of the Islamic republic.
Source: Newsy.com
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