Voting takes place in Iran’s snap presidential election today – a contest brought forward by the death last month in a helicopter crash of the former president Ebrahim Raisi. A few predictions can be made with absolute certainty.
Firstly, the winner will be a man (there are no women taking part – Iran’s ruling clerics take a dim view of the idea of a woman being allowed near the presidency). Secondly, the new president will be someone who swears absolute loyalty to the system and ultimately the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. All of which prompts the question of why bother to have an election. The answer is that elections – the semblance of voters being presented with a range of candidates to choose from – serve as cover for the Iranian regime to pose as ultimately accountable to the people.
All of which prompts the question of why bother to have an election
Six candidates were given the nod by the Guardian Council – a 12-strong panel of clerics appointed by the Supreme Leader and the Iranian parliament.
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