TEHRAN, 2 June 2008 — Iran’s newly-elected Parliament picked one of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s potential rivals in next year’s presidential election for the influential post of speaker yesterday, official media reported.
Ali Larijani, who quit as Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator last year citing differences with Ahmadinejad over how to handle the country’s atomic dispute with the West, received a clear majority of 237 votes in the 290-member legislature.
He was beaten in the 2005 presidential race but analysts expect him to run again in 2009. They say he may become a rallying point for conservative MPs who oppose the president’s economic policies and his fiery speeches against the West.
“Obviously the Majles (Parliament) wanted a stronger speaker, someone who can stand up to Ahmadinejad,” said one Iranian analyst, who declined to be named. Larijani himself made clear his intention of creating a more active role for Parliament with him as speaker. “We are looking for ways of more carefully supervising the country’s affairs,” state television quoted him as saying.
