Hard-Line Figure In Iran Runoff (Why does America care about this?) [View All]

[wookie294]

(why is this front-page news for the Washington Post?)

TEHRAN, June 18 -- The hard-line, working-class mayor of Tehran will face former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a millionaire cleric, in a runoff election for Iran's presidency next week, according to first-round results announced Saturday.

Rafsanjani, who came in first, had been a favorite in recent polls. But the close second-place finish by Mayor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who trailed by 400,000 votes, stunned the field of better-known, better-financed candidates.

Two of the candidates charged that militias and uniformed Revolutionary Guards had intimidated voters at polling places on behalf of Ahmadinejad. Mehdi Karrubi, a moderate cleric who finished a close third, appealed to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to investigate the allegations. Karrubi enjoys friendly relations with Khamenei, who holds the title of Supreme Leader and has ultimate authority in Iran.

The allegation was seconded by campaign aides to Mostafa Moin, the most prominent reformist candidate. Moin finished a distant fifth despite a higher-than-expected turnout that many in the reformist camp thought would improve their standing.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/18/AR2005061801226.html